“The quest for the Gross National Product has become the Holy Grail, and those economists who are its keepers have no understanding of the economics of beauty.”
—Stewart Udall, 1968
Welcome to the website for STEWART UDALL AND THE POLITICS OF BEAUTY, the wonderful work of our web designer Cindi Hazel!
I didn’t know Stew well at all, only meeting him once in 1988 to interview him for my 1990 Earth Day PBS bio of environmentalist David Brower. I was taken by Udall’s thoughtfulness and modesty. He explained to me how Brower had persuaded him to withdraw his support for two power dams in the Grand Canyon, even though turning against the dams meant Udall could never be elected in his home state of Arizona again. “One of the most important things for any public official is to be open-minded,” Udall told me. “And Dave Brower changed my mind about the Grand Canyon dams. He showed me I was wrong. And for that I’m in his debt, no question about it.”
Can you imagine any politician saying something like that today? So I always carried a warm memory of Udall and his integrity. In January 2020, I read an article that said that if Stew were still alive he’d have turned 100 on January 31. It made me wonder, had anyone produced a film about Udall? I did some checking. Nothing but a couple of 10-15 video shorts. So I thought, I should do that! I started reading all I could about the man—articles, biographies—and was amazed by what I was reading.
I already knew that Stew was a great environmentalist, and the public official most responsible for expanding our park system, controlling pollution, protecting endangered species and saving wilderness. I was drawn to his advocacy of beauty, believing with environmental advocate Doug Tomkins that “If anything can save the world, I’d put my money on beauty.” And I was excited to find that our current Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, shares Udall’s belief in a politics of beauty.
What I didn’t know was how relevant he is to our current day—from his consistent fights for racial and environmental justice, to his advocacy of the arts, his campaigns against atomic weapons, the nine books he wrote, and his love for history—it was clear that Udall was a Renaissance figure and far ahead of his time in his thinking and his courage, even being the first public official to warn against global warming, for example, in the mid-1960s. Just as importantly, he worked across the political aisle and was honored by conservatives as well as liberals, Republicans as well as Democrats. Even his strongest political opponents, like Senator Barry Goldwater, loved and respected Stewart as a human being
Stay tuned for more! Please have a look at our sample video and other materials on this site and join our excitement as we move to honor Stewart Udall and his service to America.
Yours for the Earth,
John de Graaf
Director