Dirty Water: One Man's Fight to Clean Up One of the World's Most Polluted Bays

Sharpsteen, Bill

ISBN 10: 0520256603 / ISBN 13: 9780520256606

Published by University of California Press, 2010

About this Item

Very Good - Crisp, clean, unread book with some shelfwear/edgewear, may have a remainder mark - NICE Standard-sized.

Seller Inventory # M0520256603Z2

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Dirty Water: One Man's Fight to Clean Up One of the World's Most Polluted Bays
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication Date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0520256603
• ISBN 13: 9780520256606
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

Dirty Water is the riveting story of how Howard Bennett, a Los Angeles schoolteacher with a gift for outrageous rhetoric, fought pollution in Santa Monica Bay--and won. The story begins in 1985, when many scientists considered the bay to be one of the most polluted bodies of water in the world. The insecticide DDT covered portions of the sea floor. Los Angeles discharged partially treated sewage into its waters. Lifeguards came down with mysterious illnesses. And Howard Bennett happily swam in it every morning.

By accident, Bennett learned that Los Angeles had applied for a waiver from the Clean Water Act to continue discharging sewage into the bay. Incensed that he had been swimming in dirty water, Bennett organized oddball coalition to orchestrate stunts such as wrapping brown ribbon around LA's city hall and issuing Dirty Toilet Awards to chastise the city's administration. This is the fast-paced story of how this unusual cast of characters created an environmental movement in Los Angeles that continues to this day with the nationally recognized Heal the Bay. Character-driven, compelling, and uplifting, Dirty Water tells how even the most polluted water can be cleaned up-by ordinary people.

About the Author

Bill Sharpsteen is a writer and photographer based in Los Angeles. His articles have appeared in the Los Angeles Times Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine, and The Washington Post. He has also worked as an award-winning documentary producer.