There were wolf howls and wry
comments from John Muir. Or at least an actor doing a darn good impression
of Muir. There was poetry and politicking. There were seedlings for all ---
new shoots from an array of plant types passed out to the crowd.
And if one message seemed to
set the tone of Saturday's memorial service to environmentalist David
Brower, who died Nov. 5 at age 88 of complications from cancer, it was take
the torch and keep it blazing.
"I don't think this is really
a closing. David's inspiration and memories and example will move on," said
Eric Kessler, 29, a community organizer living in Kazakhstan who trained
under Brower. "I don't think anyone is rally saying goodbye."
In tribute after tribute,
comment after comment, people speaking at and attending the public memorial
service at the Berkeley Community Theater sounded the theme that Bower's
work, his commitment to defending the world's natural spaces, must continue.
Not just hi honor, they said. but for the sale of the Earth and all of its
habitants.
In particular, they lauded
Brower's aggressive and spirited approach to environmental causes, his
unwillingness to back down, a devotion that irritated some but got things
done.
"I would wish that we be told
today in a Brower-like way," said Huey Johnson, a longtime California
environmentalist, friend and colleague of Brower's.
"He was in essence the anchor
to keep the (environmental) movement's head in the wind."
Roughly 1,000 people attended
the afternoon event, coming from around the world. Nearly filling the
theatre, the eclectic crowd of predominately devoted environmentalists
listened to speeches from colleagues, comments from family, a video tribute,
a "john Muir" monologue and music, including an eerily beautiful wolf howl
piece by saxophonist Paul Winter, a friend of Brower's. At the end, Winter
asked the audience members to join in for a group howl to Brower, they
eagerly did.
Additionally, a side room of
the theater was set up as a sort of memory exhibit, filled with pictures,
posters, articles and other memorabilia of Brower's life.
Here people mingled, reading,
chatting and sometimes stopping to scrinnle comments on paper taped to the
wall.
"Dave was a living summit.
Like any great landmark people were drawn to him and left inspired," someone
had written.
"We know you're now saving
the heavens and the stars," wrote someone else.
"Who can even begin filling
one of his shoes," wrote another.
Brower, who was born in
Berkeley, was the first executive director of the Sierra Club, turning the
organization from a small, largely recreational group into a major political
force. After being ousted from the Sierra Club in 1969 following clashes
with the board, Brower formed Friends of the Earth, continuing to champion
national and international causes, and later the Earth Island Institute,
where he was active until his death.
Outspoken, opinionated and
fiercely passionate about his beliefs, Brower led the fight to prevent dams
in Dinosaur National Monument and Grand Canyon National Park, was
instrumental in the formation of nine national parks and seashores, and was
a force behind the creation of the Wilderness Act of 1964.
He wrote numerous books,
produced documentaries and is credited with popularizing the photography of
Ansel Adams.
He was nominated three times
for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Through it all, Brower's
message was that the natural world is a pristine but defenseless treasure,
holding the meaning of life and deserving uncompromised protection.
A skilled mountain climber,
Brower's outdoor passions began with family trips as a child to the Sierra
Nevada. He passed this tradition along to his own four children, raising
them as much on the trail and under the stars as in their Berkeley home.
Brower's daughter, Barbara
Brower, urged Saturday's crowd to take a small potted plant as they left the
theater.
"Take it home, plant it and
take good care of it," she said. "We'll make this the first day for the hope
of the Earth."
__________
Rauch, Kate Darby.
"Tributes Acknowledge Brower's Efforts." The Berkeley Voice.
8 Dec. 2000, pp. A1 and A9.
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