The little kids understand. My 6-year-old son, Emmett, reads Dr. Seuss' "The Lorax" at least once a week and can explain the message of the book succinctly. "It's about ruining God's creations, that money's not more important than nature."
Published in 1971, at a time when Earth Day and the ecology movement were gaining counterculture traction, "The Lorax" addressed then-unconventional issues such as deforestation, pollution and greed. It was "An Inconvenient Truth" for children.
" 'The Lorax' was very overt, very political," says William Dreyer, curator of the Art of Dr. Seuss Collection. "It was a statement on conservation and corporate responsibility. He did an amazing job of simplifying issues into a story that can be appreciated and grasped by kids and adults."
The book tells the story of the Once-ler, a greedy businessman, who, literally, can't see the forest for the trees. The Once-ler builds a huge factory and chops down lush Truffula trees to feed the demand for his product (a frivolous item called a thneed).
In spite of repeated warnings from a creature called the Lorax, who speaks for the trees (but also for the creatures), the Once-ler continues to raze the forest. Eventually, the wildlife become deathly ill before finally moving away in order to survive. After polishing off the last Truffula tree, the Once-ler finds himself alone and out of business, surrounded by a wasteland of his own making.
With hindsight, the Once-ler learns his lesson, but is it too late?
The same could be asked of all of us, the grown-ups who push the buttons in the real world. What is it about taking care of the earth that we don't understand? If anything, environmental conditions have gotten worse since "The Lorax" came out all those years ago. With the rollback of environmental regulations and the slashing of EPA budgets, President Bush has been a veritable Once-ler in chief for the last eight years.
"America has lost her footing, lost her elegance," says 87-year-old Audrey Geisel, widow of the late Dr. Seuss. (He was born Theodor Seuss Geisel and died in 1991 at age 87.) "Globally speaking, it's not good, and it's getting less good all the time. We didn't learn from 'The Lorax.' We're paying a price, and we don't seem to know it."
Although Rachel Carson is credited with launching the environmental movement with her 1962 book, "Silent Spring," Dr. Seuss made that message palatable for all ages. He had, says Michelle Colman, author of "Eco Babies Wear Green," "a great way of teaching a lesson without sounding overly didactic. It's an incredible talent."
