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Sand and Steel: A Call for Conservation:
It took a glacier to carve Lake Michigan, and centuries to mold the gentle dunes along its shore. It takes but a generation of industrial growth to threaten this natural heritage of pristine wetlands. In the early 1900s, a growing middle class that cherishes the shoreline as a vacation spot begins to raise alarms over the ecological impact of Indiana's steel industry.
Business or beaches? Sand or steel? The conflict is bitter, pitting jobs and prosperity against a fragile ecosystem that is an important natural habitat, a favorite vacation spot, and a beloved source of artistic inspiration. For Hoosiers, neighboring Illinois illustrates the benefits of industrial development ... and its steep cost.
Artists and activists rally against the steel industry to dramatize the issue. Indiana continues, nonetheless, to encourage growth in the Lake Michigan steel belt. Yet it also establishes one of the country's best state park systems. |