families experienced birth defects, illnesses, and
deaths, members of this community eventually
had to be moved away from their homes. Al-
though there was some compensation for losses,
the toxicity of the arearemains, and the words
‘‘Love Canal’’ have come to stand for extreme
environmental degradation. As Eckardt C. Beck
wrote in the January 1979EPA Journal,‘‘Quite
simply, Love Canal is one of the most appalling
environmental tragedies in American history.’’
Finally, an accident at the Three Mile Island
nuclear power plant in 1979 frightened citizens of
the United States about the potential for an envi-
ronmental catastrophe in the form of a nuclear
meltdown. Just seven years later, a similar situa-
tion at Chernobyl, Ukraine, in the former Soviet
Union, resulted in widespread nuclear contamina-
tion, and that prolongedepisode remains one of
the worst environmental disasters of all time.
In 1978 the Congress of the United States
demonstrated growing environmental concern
through the passage of three laws: the National
Energy Act, the Endangered American Wilder-
ness Act, and the Antarctic Conservation Act.
These laws served to encourage conservation of
natural resources while ensuring that wildlands
would be set aside and left undeveloped for the
mutual benefit of all the world’s citizens. The
1970s were generally marked by congressional
interest and action regarding the environment.
Oliver, living and working in the flourishing
natural habitat of Cape Cod, is one of several
writers who matured during the ecologically
eventful 1970s and are now chronicling the lives
and deaths of creatures of all sorts, particularly
birds. While Oliver does not romanticize nature,
it is also clear that she values nature deeply,
identifying her as an important environmental
voice. Her early career spanned the opening days
of the environmental movement, and that move-
ment’s values seem to continue to influence her
writing.Critical Overview.
Oliver has attracted both popular and critical
attention since the publication of her first book
in 1963. Certainly, with the publication ofTwelveCar on road(Image copyright Max Earey, 2009. Used under license from Shutterstock.com)
The Black Snake