Book review: Paradise Lost? Chapter 13

Chapter 13 : “Conservation Is Now a Dead Word”. Marjory Stoneman Douglas and the Transformation of American Environmentalism. Jack E. Davis

The article by Jack E. Davis, “Conservation Is Now a Dead Word”. Marjory Stoneman Douglas and the Transformation of American Environmentalism, feels like a comprehensive biography of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, a woman who got involved in environmental issues and defended the conservation and restoration of the Everglades throughout the twentieth century. Although a twenty-page article cannot describe her life completely, nevertheless Davis uniquely combines key elements from her life with the changes in the environmentalist movement and the history of Miami and of the Everglades. Born at the end of the nineteenth century, Douglas moved down to Miami in 1915 to work in the newspaper her father owned. At that time, Miami was still a fairly new city, and its expansion was rather limited. In 1896, The Florida East Coast Railroad had reached the city, and it influenced grandly the coming growth of the city; companies, farmers, investors and politicians became more interested in the development of the region, as well as in the possible use of the Everglades. According to Davis, Douglas was never opposed to the actual development of the area, but she strongly opposed to the continual attempts to drain the Everglades, and their destruction. Throughout her career, Douglas got involved in different ways. She wrote a decisive book called The Everglades: River of Grass in 1947, which has been a great influence on environmental history. Douglas went on to get involved in different groups, and also founded a grassroots organization. It is intriguing how the article combines information on Douglas herself, the expansion of the region, and political decision-making as well as activism. It also makes the article very dense and not always easy to follow all the way through.