502-475-7445

Upcoming Events

 

Honoring David Brower (July 1, 1912 - November 5, 2000)

Nominated for two Nobel Peace Prizes, David Brower was the first executive director of the Sierra Club in 1952, and joined the fight against the Echo Park Dam in Utah's Dinosaur National Monument and led a major battle to stop the Bureau of Reclamation from building two dams that would flood portions of the Grand Canyon. He was also responsible for the protection and preservation of numerous wild places.  

Brower’s legacy instructs and inspires every person concerned about the future of our planet. We will commemorate the 100th anniversary of Brower’s birth in Louisville KY with a thoughtful look at the lasting impact of his environmental crusade. The event will include a display of books Brower used campaigning for protecting natural places, a film about Brower’s life and a forum about the lasting impact of his work and the role and responsibility of advocacy.  

July 1, 2012 at 4-7pm (snacks and beverages provided)

Mercantile Gallery Lofts, 309 E. Market St.  Louisville, KY 40202

RSVP by email or phone at 502-475-7445 

 

The Wildness Within: Remembering David Brower (Paperback - May 2012)

By: Kenneth Brower

For the 100th anniversary of David Brower’s birth his son, Kenneth Brower, brought together nineteen environmental leaders whose lives and legacies were shaped by Brower’s influence.  The result is a book in which those mentored by Brower reveal their deepest values and most moving experiences. The Wildness Within  presents illuminating anecdotes about a multifaceted man who changed the world, serving as a guide to young people and a thorn to bureaucrats and those more cautious in their approach to the crises at hand.

Pre-order price guarantee - $20 (with Free Shipping)

Reserve your copy now through the link below or by phone at 502-475-7445.

 

About David Brower

David Ross Brower was born on July 1, 1912 in Berkeley, California.  His parents fostered his love of nature by regularly taking the family on camping trips to the mountains of the nearby Sierras.

Brower entered the University of California at Berkeley at the very early age of 16 with an interest in studying entomology but left after his sophomore year to work at a concession stand in Yosemite. The opportunity to spend each day in nature cultivated a growing commitment to preserve the environment. In 1933, Brower became an official member of the Sierra Club.   In 1935, he was hired as publicity manager for Yosemite National Park where he would work for the next six years.  Time spent in the wilderness, especially mountaineering, fueled his passion, and in 1941 Brower was elected to the Sierra Club Board of Directors. During this time he was also hired as an editor at the University of California Press.

After serving in World War II in the Italian Alps with the famous 10th Mountain Division, he returned to California to work for the University Press and became editor for the Sierra Club Bulletin, the magazine that had inspired many of his outdoor trips around Yosemite.

In 1952 he was employed as Executive Director of the Sierra Club. Brower's leadership during this time is considered to have been extreme and somewhat controversial.  Brower did play an instrumental role in many of the organization's successes including lobbying for the 1964 signing of the Wilderness Act.

Like John Muir, the founder of the Sierra Club, in his dying fight against the construction of a dam in Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, Brower clearly understood the long term ecological damage caused by dams.   Although successful with the prevention of dam construction in Dinosaur National Monument and the Grand Canyon, Brower went to his grave disheartened by the failure to prevent the construction of Glen Canyon Dam across the Colorado River in 1963, calling it “one of the great environmental tragedies of our time.”  Two years later Brower was forced to resign his position as executive director because of his strong position against construction of a nuclear power plant in Diablo Canyon near San Luis Obispo, California.  Today, because science and time have shown what Muir and Brower already knew, there is strong support to remove the dams at Hetch Hetchy and Glen Canyon.  

Soon after losing his Sierra Club position he founded the environmental advocacy group Friends of the Earth and its sub-organization the League of Conservation Voters. Today, this organization has several branches around the world and is a well-known conservation entity.

Brower continued to fight to protect wild landscapes across the nation and played a role in the formation of several national parks.  In 1982, he founded another environmental organization, the Earth Island Institute whose mission includes working for environmental and social justice.

Brower never became disillusioned with his preservation goals. In honor of his dedication to preservation, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978, 1979, and 1998 and remains one of the environmental movement's most respected advocates.