Introduction

Since the 1950s, Barry Commoner has played a pivotal role in every important phase of the environmental movement, including opposition to nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s, and the energy debates of the 1970s, and on through pioneering research on organic farming, recycling, and toxic chemical substitution. Dr. Commoner saw early on that arguments for dangerous technologies were being wrapped in scientific jargon to deflect public scrutiny. He championed the idea of empowering citizens by providing them with accurate and useful information. He also realized that environmental pollution is created by production, and that eliminating pollution requires fundamental changes in the ways things are made. Few people have made greater contributions to protecting and improving the environment than the scientist, teacher, author, activist Dr. Barry Commoner. For half a century, Dr. Commoner has been an international leader in the environmental movement.