Stewart Udall

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Stewart Udall bigraphy, stories - American Democratic politician, former United States Secretary of the Interior

Stewart Udall : biography

31 January 1920 – 20 March 2010

Stewart Lee Udall (January 31, 1920 – March 20, 2010) New York Times, March 20, 2010. Accessed March 21, 2010 was an American politician and later, a federal government official. After serving three terms as a congressman from Arizona, he served as Secretary of the Interior from 1961 to 1969, under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.Obituary Los Angeles Times, March 21, 2010; page A39.

Family

Stewart Udall was married to Ermalee Webb (died 2001) with whom he had two daughters, (Lori and Lynn) and four sons, (Denis, Jay, Scott, and Tom).

He was the brother of U.S. Representative and 1976 presidential candidate, Mo Udall; he served as Mo’s campaign manager during the Democratic primary election, which Mo lost to Jimmy Carter. Stewart Udall’s son Tom Udall and nephew Mark Udall (Mo’s son), both former members of the U.S. House of Representatives, were elected to the United States Senate from New Mexico and Colorado, respectively, in 2008.

Books about Stewart L. Udall and Ermalee Udall

  • Legacies of Camelot: Stewart and Lee Udall, American Culture, and the Arts, 2008, by L. Boyd Finch

Energy policy

During the energy crisis in the 1970s, Udall advocated the use of solar energy as one remedy to the crisis. In October 1972, Udall published a seminal article in The Atlantic Monthly, entitled, "The Last Traffic Jam". The article contains arguments for the proposition that "less is more" and foresaw problems with U.S. transportation and energy policy and competition with emerging markets for scarce resources.[Udall, Stewart (October 1972), "The Last Traffic Jam: Too many cars, too little oil. An argument for the proposition that ‘less is more,’" The Atlantic Monthly, http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1972/10/the-last-traffic-jam/3367/, retrieved 2011-08-21] In 1974, Udall, along with Charles Conconi and David Osterhout, wrote The Energy Balloon, discussing the energy policies of the United States.

Later years

After leaving government service in 1969, Udall taught for a year at the School of Forestry at Yale University as a Visiting Professor of Environmental Humanism., University of Arizona Library, accessed 29 June 2010 He later devoted his time to writing books and articles about environmental issues and to practicing law. In 1971, he published America’s Natural Treasures: National Nature Monuments and Seashores, which is about America’s national parks, monuments, and reserves., Udall Foundation, accessed 29 June 2010

In 1979, he left Washington to return to the West. In 1980, Udall was elected to the Central Arizona Water Conservation District Board and commissioned as a member of the . Udall was presented with the Ansel Adams Award in 1986, the Wilderness Society’s highest conservation award. He also was awarded the United Nations Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement. Udall received the Common Cause Public Service Achievement Award for his lifelong protection of the environment and defense of American citizens who were victims of nuclear weapons testing.

In 1987, he published To the Inland Empire: Coronado and our Spanish Legacy, which retraces the trails of Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado as he searched for the "golden cities" of Cibola in what now is Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Udall published The Quiet Crisis and the Next Generation in 1988, a revised edition with nine new chapters of The Quiet Crisis (1963). "The Quiet Crisis" introduced the Myth of Superabundance. In 1990, he co-authored Beyond the Mythic West, which examines effects of change upon the inhabitants and lands of the western United States. In 1998, he published The Myths of August: A Personal Exploration of Our Tragic Cold War Affairs with the Atom., Indian Country Today, accessed 29 June 2010

One of Udall’s last essays was his "", written with his wife, Ermalee, which asked for their grandchildren’s assistance in advocating for protection of the Earth. This letter resulted in Udall being contacted by the who asked that they videotape the thoughts in that letter, since it was more likely that the generation of his grandchildren watch internet videos than read letters. Udall agreed, and the video may be seen on-line at, . This video was then transcribed and adapted to a chapter of a book, . Udall also agreed to serve as Chairman Emeritus of the VillageTown Stewards. The video was filmed coincidentally on the Summer solstice of 2009 and Udall died nine months later on the Spring equinox. His public memorial was held on the Summer solstice of 2010. It is believed this video was the last recording of Udall’s views.