A Brief Overview of Environmental Children ' s Programs
One of the earliest and most successful of these early works is Dr . Seuss ' s The Lorax . Originally a children ' s book , in 1972 , The Lorax appeared on CBS as a 30 minute cartoon exploring and critiquing the affect that rampant consumerism has on our environment . While promoting a message of preservation , conservation , and ultimately re-vegetation , this children ' s program was extremely controversial .
The Lorax has been heralded by the National Education Association as one of the top books and TV shows for children , and by the School Library Journal as one of the best picture books of all time . However , The Lorax has also been banned for offering a proenvironmental perspective . In the Pacific Northwest , several logging district have banned the book from schools because of the anti-timber message of cutting down the Truffula trees . Moreover , in 2011 for the fortieth anniversary of The Lorax , the critique offered by Emma Marris in the journal Nature described The Lorax rather harshly : he is the “ parody of a misanthropic ecologist ” ( 149 ). Furthermore , she claims the book “ became a kind of Silent Spring for the playground set ” ( 148 ). But regardless of the controversy , the message was out there , and it has been changing the consciousness of environmentalism in children ever since .
Ark II is another such show , albeit with far less influence . This live action , Saturday-morning program was aimed at children and showed the effects of an environmental apocalypse . The show ' s opening voice over states ,
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