In an earlier post I made an erroneous statement. It went like this:
"Here are some facts. The first modern-day environmentalist organization to emerge inCanada
Turns out that Pollution Probe WASN'T Canada's first environmentalist organization. It was predated by Toronto's Group Action to Stop Pollution, better known as GASP, which held its initial meeting in December 1967. Led by city alderman Tony O'Donohue, GASP tried to raise public awareness about environmental issues. They reached the apex of their short career in 1969 when they co-sponsored a public hearing on the mysterious death of a number of ducks off of the Toronto Islands. Shortly thereafter, they seem to have disappeared. I'm not exactly sure why, but I intend to find out.
The Committee of a Thousand is another citizen-based environmental group that emerged in Ontario during the period in question. Formed in Niagara in 1968, the Committee made it their modus operandi to spot polluters and raise a ruckus. Again, I'm not quite sure whatever happened to this group, and would be very interested to find out.
So, what's the lesson in all this? As historians, we only know something is the "first" until we find something that predates it. So be careful what you say.
P.S. I acknowledge that the research that went into identifying these groups was (southern) Ontario-centric. If you happen to know about similar groups outside of this area, please feel free to let me know.
"Here are some facts. The first modern-day environmentalist organization to emerge in
Turns out that Pollution Probe WASN'T Canada's first environmentalist organization. It was predated by Toronto's Group Action to Stop Pollution, better known as GASP, which held its initial meeting in December 1967. Led by city alderman Tony O'Donohue, GASP tried to raise public awareness about environmental issues. They reached the apex of their short career in 1969 when they co-sponsored a public hearing on the mysterious death of a number of ducks off of the Toronto Islands. Shortly thereafter, they seem to have disappeared. I'm not exactly sure why, but I intend to find out.
The Committee of a Thousand is another citizen-based environmental group that emerged in Ontario during the period in question. Formed in Niagara in 1968, the Committee made it their modus operandi to spot polluters and raise a ruckus. Again, I'm not quite sure whatever happened to this group, and would be very interested to find out.
So, what's the lesson in all this? As historians, we only know something is the "first" until we find something that predates it. So be careful what you say.
P.S. I acknowledge that the research that went into identifying these groups was (southern) Ontario-centric. If you happen to know about similar groups outside of this area, please feel free to let me know.
