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[Identification of item], ECOS Records, University Archives, Duke University.
The ECOS Records were received by the University Archives as a transfer in 1975 and 1980.
Processed by Emily Glenn
Completed February 2003
Encoded by Jill Katte, September 2003
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
ECOS (Environmentally Conscious Organization of Students) was formed at Duke University in 1969. ECOS grew to include members of the Durham, N.C. community in their efforts to educate people on environmental concerns. Other environmental groups active around the Raleigh-Durham, N.C. area in the early 1970s were: Chapel Hill ECOS, Organization for Environmental Quality (Raleigh), and the Conservation Council of North Carolina.
ECOS members were advocates of University-wide recycling, conservative population growth, and responsible consumption. At Duke University, members proposed an environmental studies program and organized a teach-in. ECOS came to be known for their recycling efforts, employing a small staff to collect newspapers, aluminum, and glass for resale to local companies.
Some of ECOS' awareness-raising activities included a Bike-a-Thon between Raleigh and Durham, protesting the development of the Eno River area, protesting construction of the New Hope Dam, and lobbying for environmentally sound work spaces. The Eno River Park project was particularly important to the Durham, N.C. region. In the early 1970s, ECOS and supporters led a campaign to save the Eno River area from commercial development. Due to ECOS' protest efforts, the city of Durham withdrew its efforts to construct a reservoir. The Eno River State Park was established in 1972.
As of 2003, ECOS is known as the Environmental Alliance and is active at Duke University.
The ECOS records include correspondence, establishment and governance documents, meeting minutes, events information, financial materials, a statement of purpose, and materials relating to ECOS projects and causes. The most significant ECOS projects within these records include the Eno River Park project, the New Hope Dam project, and Carolina Power and Light Company's proposed power plant in Wake County. The records also include publicity, clippings, and other printed material related to ECOS, the Duke Environmental Center, and the Environmental Coordinating Council at Duke.
These and related materials may be accessed under the following subject headings in the Duke University Libraries online catalog.