By Hook or By Crook: A History of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Chapter 8: Growing Pains

Abstract

Internal debates over the focus of the Clearwater organization again came to a head in 1977 and 1978. During that time, several attempts were made to more clearly define the organization's role in the environmental movement, and in each case controversy erupted. These cases included proposals to align the group with advocates of organized labor or civil rights. The largest issue in question was whether or not the Clearwater should sail to Seabrook, New Hampshire to take part in large protests against the construction of a nuclear power plant. At the heart of each of these controversies was the question of whether the Clearwater organization should identify with the more mainstream elements of the American environmental movement or the more radical elements, as well as whether its focus should be strictly regional or more broad. In the minds of many Clearwater members, the debate went to the core of the organization's mission, and each issue prompted passionate arguments on all sides of the issue. Because these debates came about in quick succession and lasted for several months, it seemed to many that too much effort was spent arguing and a bad impression was left in the minds of many casual participants in the organization. The Seabrook controversy and others hurt the organization in terms of its reputation for uniting people with mixed interests, but at the same time the organization was strengthened by establishing a more clear focus and mission as it approached the end of the Clearwater's first decade on the Hudson River.