PEORIA -- The death of Peoria environmental activist Tom Edwards has shocked the environmental community.
Here's the Peoria Journal Star's first story on his death, in a July 23 vehicle accident on the McClugage Bridge.Tributes are being written on emails and listserves, as the sad news circulates throughout the area.
Edwards was not always the most popular environmental activist. He clashed with others in his insistence that they stop trying to manipulate nature by ripping out or killing non-native flora and fauna.
He most famously asked why forests should be rehabbed to a certain date in history, by cutting down maple trees, for example, when the planet's evolution has occurred over millions of years. He favored letting nature take its own course, and insisted it would adapt and heal itself.
He clashed with the US. Army Corp of Engineers in its plans to build islands in the Illinois River, saying they wouldn't work to slow the river's siltation.
He attacked the Corps plan to "renovate" the Rice Lake area by cutting down trees and performing other destructive acts, supposedly for the greater good of the site.He went door to door to oppose Peoria Disposal Co's plan to expand its hazardous waste landfill, and that time-tested political tactic worked as thousands of people began to oppose the expansion.
He enlisted allies, and the activists persuaded the Peoria County Board to deny siting of the expansion.
His approach was not always political. When some activists feared that PDC would ultimately win, and decided to compromise with PDC, Edwards opposed that. Then the deal fell apart.
Edwards, a former reporter with the Journal Star, didn't own a cell phone, computer or use email, much less Facebook or Twitter. He typed and duplicated his materials to pass out to elected officials and journalists. That tactic worked, too.
He remained independent and beholden to no one by working for himself as a roofer and contractor until he retired on Social Security, all the while advocating for the environment. No one could intimidate him into backing down or threaten his livelihood. He lived modestly, and didn't even own a house, apparently spending most of his income on activism.
He was a strong, reliable voice for the environment, and his activism, an example to others, will be badly missed.
I first meet Tom when Bill Rutherford and I were working to prevent the 'in perpetuity open space' from being built upon aka Riverplex. Two tenancious environmentalists who knew what they believed in and were valiant in advocating for their causes. Both are missed!
Posted by: Karrie E. Alms | July 26, 2010 at 07:58 PM