ABSTRACT
Lynn Townsend White, Jr was born in San Francisco, California, on 29 April 1907. In the cold of the Washington, DC winter of 1966, White, presented a ground-breaking and controversial paper at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. White begins by pointing out that although 'all forms of life modify their context' current anthropogenic environmental impact 'has so increased in force that it has changed in essence'. White dismisses a focus on a simple increase in science and technology. In fact, White even goes so far as to propose St Francis as the environmental 'patron saint'. Interestingly, since the publication of 'Historical Roots' in 1967, Christians seem to have taken up the task White lays out. Although often misunderstood, White, contribution to environmental thought was, and continues to be, both important and profound.
