Series:

Environmental Activism in Los Angeles

Topic:

Social Movements

Environmental Movement

Biographical Note:

Founder of Heal the Bay, Unpave LA, and the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council. Involved in California Water Impact Network (C-WIN).

Interviewer:

Collings, Jane

Interviewee:

Green, Dorothy

Persons Present:

Green and Collings.

Place Conducted:

Green's home in Los Angeles, California.

Supporting Documents:

Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.

Interviewer Background and Preparation:

The interview was conducted by Jane Collings, interviewer and senior editor, Center for Oral History Research. B.A., Communications, Antioch College; M.A., Communications, University of Iowa; Ph.D., Critical Studies, UCLA.Collings prepared for the interview by reviewing material provided by Dorothy Green about Heal the Bay, the Los Angeles San Gabriel Watershed Council and California Water Impact Network, or C-WIN. Dorothy Green's papers currently reside in the Department of Special Collections and the UCLA Library.

Processing of Interview:

The transcript is a verbatim transcription of the recording. It was transcribed by a professional transcribing agency using a list of proper names and specialized terminology supplied by the interviewer. Green was then given an opportunity to review the transcript and made a number of corrections and additions. Those corrections were entered into the text without further editing or review on the part of the Center for Oral History Research staff.

Length:

12 hrs.

Language:

English

Copyright:

Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.

Audio:

Series Statement:

The series documents environmental activism in the Los Angeles area from the 1970s through to the present day. The majority of interviews are with either founders or knowledgeable participants in major regional environmental organizations. Represented groups embody a wide range of issues, including conservation, restoration, environmental justice and toxic waste disposal.Additional partially processed interviews are available through Library Special Collections.

Family background—Attitudes toward education in the family home—Disappointment with Hamilton High School—Personal goals—Attends university—Studies music—First impressions of Los Angeles—The family moves to Los Angeles—Religious background—Social youth group activities—Develops an appreciation of the outdoors—Meets future husband—The family business—Green and her husband build a hotel in Desert Hot Springs—Moves to West Los Angeles—Green’s son’s special needs—Participation in Jewish community group in Desert Hot Springs—Early participation in politics—More on participation in Jewish community group in Desert Hot Springs—More on Green’s son’s special needs—Green’s interest in government—Runs the greeting card business for The Exceptional Children’s Foundation—Becomes active in the environmental movement.

Women For:—Green’s growing concern about environment—More on Women For:—Performs as a speaker on behalf of Coastal Initiative—Supports work on Assembly Bill 1056 sponsored by Edwin Z’berg—More on Women For: —The role of money in politics—Fran Diamond—Lack of commitment among some members of Women For: —Women For:’s fundraising—The grassroots initiative process in the seventies—The People’s Lobby—Women For:’s work with People’s Lobby on the Clean Environment Act—More on People’s Lobby—The defeat of the Clean Environment Act—Gladys Meade’s efforts to take on the issue of campaign financing—Participants in campaign finance effort—Widespread lack of interest in activist groups in campaign finance reform issue—The People’s Lobby, Common Cause, and Secretary of State Jerry Brown work together on campaign finance reporting—Joins Common Cause board—Works on nuclear issue for Clean Environment Act—The Fair Political Practices Act.

More on participation in environmental issues—More on Women For:—The grassroots participation in the initiative process in the 70s—Media coverage of the Peripheral Canal campaign—The “strange bedfellows” campaign on the Peripheral Canal (Common Cause, Jerry Brown, People’s Lobby) —Ellen Stern Harris—Green’s work with the Planning and Conservation League—Work with the California League of Conservation VotersThe origins of Heal the Bay (HTB)—Early HTB fundraising and publicity—The first HTB office—Early HTB staff and volunteers—The HTB summer promotion at the Santa Monica Place mall.

More on Women For:—Ellen Stern Harris—The Peripheral Canal campaign—The formation of WATER—Dr. Rimmon C. Fay—Howard Bennett—The creative contributions to HTB of Cydney Mandel and Jamie Simons—The formation of a scientific advisory committee for HTB—More on the summer promotion at the Santa Monica Place—The HTB office staff—HTB acquires an aquarium at Santa Monica Pier—HTB linkages with the City of Santa Monica—The HTB logo—The Beach Report Card—Felicia Marcus’s approach to the struggle with the city of L.A. over the Hyperion Sewage Treatment Plant—The water quality issues in the Playa Vista development design—The struggle against the Ahmanson Ranch development and the fight to save the headwaters of Malibu Creek.