The First Green Wave

Ryan O’Connor teaches in the Department of Canadian Studies at Trent University. He received his PhD from the University of Western Ontario and held a SSHRC postdoctoral fellowship from 2011 to 2012. His research focuses on the origins and development of the environmental movement in Canada.

Monte Hummel, OC, President Emeritus, World Wildlife Fund Canada:
Ryan O’Connor has not only captured the facts regarding the early modern environmental movement in Canada, but the spirit of those days as well. For me that spirit will always be reflected in the image of my best friend and founder of Pollution Probe, Tony Barrett, wearing an army helmet and headset, fiddling with a military switching device he installed on his phone, and shouting “Incoming! Incoming!” I have often been asked whether I’m not a little embarrassed about those early days. My answer: “Never. We were right about absolutely every issue we tackled and have since been proven so.” A breezy read, for seminal times.

Bob McDonald, OC, science journalist and host of CBC Radio’s Quirks & Quarks:
Before there was Greenpeace or the Suzuki Foundation there was Pollution Probe, a group of intelligent, dedicated environmentalists with a knack for engaging both industry and politicians to bring about real change. This book shows how today’s practices such as recycling, waste management, and pesticide control were all introduced by this group before they were household terms. Hundreds of environmental organizations today were either spawned or inspired by this one organization, which showed how it’s done.

Frank Zelko is a professor in the Department of History at the University of Vermont and the author of Make it a Green Peace! The Rise of Countercultural Environmentalism:
The First Green Wave is a deeply researched, fine grained, nuanced history of Canada’s early environmental movement. Ryan O’Connor convincingly demonstrates that organizations such as Toronto’s Pollution Probe pioneered a distinct form of regionally focused, politically centrist environmentalism that reflected Canada’s political, geographic, and social realities. It is a fine contribution to the growing body of literature on this important topic.

Elizabeth May, OC, Leader of the Green Party of Canada:
Canada’s environmental movement has a rich and significant history but has very few historians who have taken the time to chronicle and preserve that history. In this lively account, Ryan O’Connor has contributed enormously toward remedying that gap. Pollution Probe was one of the very first of Canada's environmental groups. Those early activists charted a course that many still follow – and more should.

Mark S. Winfield is a professor in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University and the author of Blue-Green Province: The Environment and the Political Economy of Ontario:
O’Connor’s work provides crucial insights into the origins of one of the key organizations in the modern environmental movement. It is a must read for any student of environmental policy and politics in Canada.

John F.M. Clark is the director of the Institute for Environmental History and a lecturer in the School of History at the University of St. Andrews:
Based on a wealth of research, The First Green Wave provides a valuable contribution to the history of Canada’s environmental movement. O’Connor deftly examines – often through the voices of key participants – the birth and changing fortunes of Pollution Probe. This is a fascinating account of a social movement, borne of the cultural ferment of the 1960s, and sustained by the pragmatic cooperation of student and professional activists, scientific experts, the media, and business interests. Read O’Connor’s book: “Do it”!