May 15, 2026 — by

Mitch Teich (Program Host)
& Ethan Shantie (Producer, editor, host)

May 15, 2026 —

Mitch TeichNorth Words: How the St. Lawrence Valley came together to defend the environment in the 1970s

In 2026, political activism can be as easy as signing an online petition on your phone. Interest groups can organize rallies with tools like WhatsApp, Signal, or social media apps like Facebook and X.

Fifty years ago, though, it was flyers and word of mouth that often powered activism. Which makes the work of grassroots environmental organizations on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border in the 1970s and ‘80s that much more impressive. Groups with names such as UPSET, TIARA, and Save the River mobilized to try to block or shape projects that they believed would be harmful to people in northern New York, Ontario, and Quebec, even as they were designed to benefit people in other parts of both countries.

A new book by Neil Forkey tells the story of those days – starting with the “Slick of ’76,” a massive crude oil spill on the St. Lawrence River that caused both natural and economic damage to the region on the eve of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.

Forkey’s book is called Defending a Borderland: Canadian and American Environmental Activism in the St. Lawrence Valley, and it introduces readers to the people and organizations on both sides of the border.  Forkey is an associate professor of Canadian Studies at St. Lawrence University. 

The book also details the sometimes unlikely political allies that formed in the region as both new and long-time residents worked to preserve not just the natural environment, but the area’s rural way of life.

Also on this episode, Mitch and producer Ethan Shantie discuss some of their surprising careers and the music of Sheena Easton.

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