Spearheading Environmental Change: The Legacy of Indiana Congressman Floyd J. Fithian

Review\n"Floyd Fithian was an effective and inspirational leader who cared deeply about the environment and his constituents. This book, which reflects upon his achievements, is a timely reminder of what it means to be a true and dedicated public servant. It was an extreme honor to have worked for Congressman Fithian, and I hope his story will inspire others to consider public service." —Judge Steven Meyer, Superior Court 2, Tippecanoe County, Indiana\n"Do I focus on the challenges in my home district or on those of the nation? Floyd Fithian, a superb politician, resolved that challenge as well as any member of Congress I knew and achieved significant achievements in both areas." —Lee H. Hamilton, former member of the United States House of Representatives\n"Extending from the upper Midwest to the country as a whole, Spearheading Environmental Change is truly ambitious in scope, charting the trajectory of environmental thinking and policy during the second half of the twentieth century. While hewing to some elements of conventional biography grounded in extensive archival research, this volume offers much more: an expansive account of how the ideals of conservation took shape nationally as well as how they were put into practice—but above all how leading figures such as Floyd Fithian sought to resolve the seemingly intractable controversies that often arose in the process and that ultimately 'hold substance for all progressives fighting for transformations in public policy.' In the end, this beautifully crafted book tells a complex story—and a compelling one." —Christian Knoeller, Professor Emeritus of English at Purdue University and author of Reimagining Environmental History: Ecological Memory in the Wake of Landscape Change\n"The book?s greatest contribution is its exposure of how environmental policy is a deeply flawed process, with different competing and even contradictory interests struggling for domination." —H-Net\nSpearheading Environmental Change: The Legacy of Indiana Congressman Floyd J. Fithian describes the life of a four-term United States congressman, focusing on his role in the emerging environmental movement in late twentieth-century America. Spearheading Environmental Change highlights Fithian’s legislative efforts regarding three water-related issues that profoundly concerned Hoosier and midwestern voters: creating a national park on the Indiana shoreline of Lake Michigan; canceling dam construction near Purdue University; and mitigating flooding in the Kankakee River Basin. The book also covers Fithian’s positions on ecologically sensitive issues such as pesticides, noise pollution, fossil fuels, and nuclear power.\nLargely remembered for his participation in the Democratic reform wave that took over Congress in 1975 post-Watergate (the so-called Class of ’74) and as an advocate for Hoosier farmers, Fithian has been overlooked for his role as a force to be reckoned with on the House floor when it came to the nation’s environmental challenges. Fithian was a highly ethical, pragmatic reformer bent on preserving his country’s natural resources. Spearheading Environmental Change gives Fithian the credit he deserves as an environmental warrior on the national stage.