Jamaica, New York: Citizens for a Better Environment, 1972. 11” x 8½”. Stapled pictorial thin card wrappers. Pp. 30. Very good: wrappers very gently edge worn; front with a few subtle soil spots and a faint corner crease extending to margin of first few leaves.

This is an unrecorded illustrated publication, naturally “printed on 100% recycled paper,” issued by a lesser-known eco-activist group, Citizens for a Better Environment (CBE).

CBE was founded in Chicago in 1971 and by the early 1980s had spread to California, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The group still exists in Oakland and Huntington Park as Communities for a Better Environment, and is thought to be the first environmental organization to practice door-to-door canvassing. We don't know how long they functioned in Jamaica, New York, but a 1972 New York Times article explained how they came to be there; apparently CBE had been formed by encyclopedia salesmen who wanted to use their skills for good, and one of them, John McKenzie (listed in this periodical as CBE president) moved his efforts to Queens.

This premiere (and possibly only) issue of CBE Newsletter begins with a somewhat unhinged editorial on the ongoing “environmental crisis” and the diatribe persists throughout. It also explains the group's goal of raising funds through direct contact, to remain “truly independent” and “liable only to the general public.” It bewails “the cancer of pollution” as well as “the scorn displayed on some doorsteps” and offers “to those apathetic meanderers and those who consider the concerned environmentalist little more than a bleeding heart . . . only one rebuttal: Don't be foolish.” There are reports on species loss, legislative efforts and setbacks, and mercury contamination in the food supply. It has a “history and perspective” on Long Island wetlands, a detailed report on the county's garbage problems and “what you always wanted to know about composting (even though you didn't ask).” There is a feature on ecology and social justice as well as tips on “what you can do” such as “how to sue industrial polluters of water” or the more direct “Clean up or shut up!” Columns are printed in various colors and there are illustrations and photographic images throughout, including a full-page chart inside the rear cover “showing many kinds of pollution and the effect on the total environment.”

A rare, ardent publication on the need for environmental action in the community – within New York and nationwide. No holdings were found in OCLC or online. Very good. Item #4538