{"id":2155,"date":"2011-09-22T14:00:16","date_gmt":"2011-09-22T18:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/doddcenter.wordpress.com\/?p=2155"},"modified":"2011-09-22T14:00:16","modified_gmt":"2011-09-22T18:00:16","slug":"sidestream-the-same-oiled-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/2011\/09\/22\/sidestream-the-same-oiled-story\/","title":{"rendered":"SideStream: The Same Oiled Story"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Cover page, Northwest Passage, 1971<\/p><\/div>\n

The APC originated in the late 1960s, inspired by the political, social, and cultural advocacy of UConn students at that time.\u00a0 The materials in this collection emphasize the importance of grassroots organizations and alternative media in providing different stories and perspectives to a public drowning in mainstream.\u00a0\u00a0 Unfortunately, most UConn undergrads are unaware that these invaluable research materials are at their fingertips, literally waiting to be examined. I was one of these students until two weeks ago, after being formally introduced to all the resources the Dodd has to offer in subject areas ranging from politics, to women\u2019s studies, to the environment itself.\u00a0 This got me to thinking: what about other students?\u00a0 What about students majoring in Environmental Studies or other areas that\u00a0deviate from the typical subjects often associated with archival research? Would it even occur to them to look in the APC when researching a historically documented ecological issue?\u00a0 \u00a0Well it should!<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been digging through the APC archives for a while now and believe me\u2014it\u2019s a gold mine ranging back to the late 1950s and 1960s.\u00a0 I personally struck gold when looking through Northwest Passage<\/em>, a bi-weekly Bellingham, Washington newspaper printed from 1969 to 1986. The paper grew very popular as far as grassroots news is concerned and it quickly evolved into an ecological
\njournal with a national subscription base, including a number of mainstream media sources.<\/p>\n

Publisher Frank Kathman, one of the three co-founders, boasted: \u201c[W]e soon found that the Passage<\/em> had a monopoly on environmental information in the Northwest.\u201d Add the newspaper\u2019s penchant for publishing risqu\u00e9 stories on topics such as personal marijuana cultivation, its willingness to include articles and commentaries from subscribers, and the \u201cMolasses Jug,\u201d\u2014a local funk section including everything from old wives\u2019 remedies to advice on herbal supplements\u2014and you\u2019ve got a recipe for underground news success. This recipe was especially savored in Bellingham, because as Kathman asserted, \u201c[It] seemed like a microcosm of the American dream. A place where a small but ambitious paper could really be effective.\u201d\u00a0 It was, indeed, effective\u2014especially when it came to
\ncovering key environmental issues of the period: \u201c[We] made establishment papers look like they were shirking their duties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course any mainstream paper would have been shamed, had its coverage of the 1971 Anacortes Oil spill, for instance, been compared to the incessant coverage of Kathman\u2019s staff. Northwest Passage<\/em> had addressed the oil issue for some time before the spill, as the controversial debate raged over expanding ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Company) oil tankers and production in Alaska.\u00a0 The Anacortes incident sent 210,000 gallons of no. 2 diesel oil spilling into the Guemes Channel. The number was initially reported as 5000 gallons, not barrels, delaying action until six to sixteen hours later.\u00a0 Only about 5% of the oil was cleaned, and a study of the previous 1969 spill near the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute found that bacterial degradation after oil spills is slow. Toxic hydrocarbons remain\u2014especially if diesel fuel is spilled. The most toxic areas dissipate quickly, and cannot be cleaned at all.\u00a0 The Passage <\/em>was apparently also successful at portending the future. The April 26, 1971
\nissue included an article titled \u201cOur Fine Feathered Friends,\u201d explaining how to care for birds, should they be harmed by potential oil spills. Author David Wolf concluded his article on a hopeful note: \u201cMay we never find ourselves in need of these procedures.\u201d\u00a0 Turns out these procedures would be needed the same day the issue was printed!<\/p>\n

Apparently the supposedly archived environmental hot topics of the late 60s and early 70s are still simmering\u2014dare I say boil<\/em>ing?\u2013in the world outside the Dodd Center today.<\/p>\n

Krisela Karaja, Student Intern<\/p>\n

Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kathman, Frank. \u201cPassage History.\u201d Northwest Passage<\/em> [Bellingham, Washington] 15 Mar. \u2013\u00a0 28 Mar. 1971: Vol. 4 No. 2. Alternative Press Collections. Archives and Special\u00a0Collections
\nat the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries.<\/p>\n

Northwest Passage<\/em> [Bellingham, Washington] 10 May \u2013 23 May 1971: Vol. 5 No. 3. Alternative Press Collections. Archives and Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries.<\/p>\n

University of Connecticut. UConn EcoHusky<\/em>. UConn Office of Environmental Policy, n.d. Web.\u00a0 15 Sept. 2011. http:\/\/ecohusky.uconn.edu\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Wolf, David. \u201cOur Fine Feathered Friends.\u201d Northwest Passage<\/em> [Bellingham, Washington] 26\u00a0Apr. \u2013 9 May 1971: Vol. 5 No. 2. Alternative Press Collections. Archives and Special\u00a0Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The APC originated in the late 1960s, inspired by the political, social, and cultural advocacy of UConn students at that time.\u00a0 The materials in this collection emphasize the importance of grassroots organizations and alternative media in providing different stories and … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}