Robert O. Anderson

As chairman and chief executive officer of Atlantic Richfield, the oil giant he had created, Robert Orville Anderson may have seemed an unlikely environmental leader in the 1960s. However, Anderson did not wait for the rest of his industry to recognize that its enlightened self interest lay in responding to the clamor of environmental activists. In this book, journalist Jack Raymond chronicles Anderson's activities on behalf of the environment in his capacity as oil man, and as chairman of the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The book begins with excerpts from Anderson's pivotal address to a meeting of the United States National Commission for UNESCO in late 1969 in which he placed protection of the environment as a central issue of the time. The author then traces the development of Anderson's environmental thinking and his deep-seeded belief that environmental protection and economic growth need not be viewed as mutually exclusive goals. An excellent introduction to environmental issues and to the environmental movement. Co-published with the Aspen Institute.