A feature of the Industrial Revolution has been the occasional appearance of resistance to the nature and pace of change within society. The spread of the 'dark, satanic mills' in the nineteenth century prompted many, perhaps most notably Robert Owen, to search for an alternative 'progress' for society. The founding of conservation and amenity groups in Britain in the nineteenth century was perhaps the least radical, but most enduring legacy, of organised reaction to industrial sprawl.

By the late 1960s a new environmentalism was emerging, inspired by Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and encouraged by the counter culture movement. This new movement was a loose and incredible coalition of young politically motivated radicals, traditional environmentalists, respected scientists and economists, and some establishment groups and individuals. In the UK the new environmentalism was boosted by the founding of The Ecologist magazine in 1970. A key group within the new environmentalism was the Alternative Technology (AT) movement. Advocates of AT used a range of approaches to explore alternatives to the path of progress. This paper will discuss some of these attempts and show the key role that The Ecologist played in maintaining the momentum of the new environmental movement.