ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the history of the Polish ecological movement in 1989. This history divides into two developmental phases which reflect the dominance of specific organizational forms as well as different social and political circumstances. The first phase coincided with the creation of Solidarity in 1980, while the political changes of 1989 launched the second. The political conditions of social resistance to the Communist authorities were imprinted on the character of the first phase. For the environmental movement, it was a time of demonstrations and protest. Greens more than any other group engaged in symbolic acts intended to appeal to emotions more than to rational choices and strategies. Typical of this period were spontaneous informal organizations and groups, often arising in response to local conflicts over environmental dangers. These were the first independent citizens' initiatives in Poland that sought to pressure the authorities from below concerning ecological problems.
