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Environmental HistoryLearning from the Past

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1500

1850

1870

1880

1906Figure 2-1Page 20

Case Study: Case Study: Near Extinction of the American BisonNear Extinction of the American Bison

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Earliest Hunter-Gatherers- 60,000 years ago Diet: plants, meat, fish Communities: small, fewer than 50 Nomadic – moved seasonally Lifespan: 30 – 40 years Hunted large game cooperatively

60,000 12,000 mid 1700s 1950 presentHunter-Gatherer InformationIndustrialAgricultural

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Advanced Hunter-Gatherers Used more advanced tools Altered distribution of plants Environmental Impact: limited

Small population Low resource use Migration

60,000 12,000 mid 1700s 1950 presentHunter-Gatherer InformationIndustrialAgricultural

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Hunter-Gatherers Had only three energy

sources: Sunlight in captured plants Fire Their own muscle power

Very little impact on environment

See Jared Diamond

60,000 12,000 mid 1700s 1950 present

IndustrialAgriculturalHunter-Gatherer Information

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Agricultural Revolution-10,000-12,00 years ago

Cultivated Wild plants Slash-and-burn cultivation Shifting cultivation Impact: limited

Small population Primitive tools Abundant land

Agricultural

60,000 12,000 mid 1700s 1950 presentHunter-Gatherer InformationIndustrial

7Slide 2

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Harvesting for2 to 5 years

1 Clearingand burningvegetation

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Planting

4Allowingto revegetate10 to 30 years

Figure 2-2Page 22

Slash and burn / shifting cultivation

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Agricultural Revolution Slash-and-burn

Cutting down trees and other vegetation and then burning the underbrush to clear small patches of land

Subsistence Farming Family grew only

enough food to feed itself.

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Agricultural Revolution

Agricultural Revolution

Cultural shift that began in several regions of the world

Involved a gradual move from a lifestyle based on nomadic hunting

Agroforestry Planting a mixture of

food crops and tree crops

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Slide 3

Agricultural Revolution

Good News Bad News

More food Destruction of wildlife habitats from clearing forests and grasslands

Longer life expectancy

Fertile land turned into desert by livestock overgrazing

Supported a larger population

Formation of villages, towns, and cities

Towns and cities served as centers for trade, government,and religion

Killing of wild animals feeding on grass or crops

Soil eroded streams and lakes

Increase in armed conflict and slavery over ownership of land and water resources

Towns and cities concentrated wastes and pollution and increased spread of diseases

Higher standard of living for many people

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Industrial – Medical Revolution Shift from renewable resources to nonrenewable

resources -increase in per capita energy consumption Development of cities- economic growth Increased crop yields

Industrial

60,000 12,000 mid 1700s 1950 presentHunter-Gatherer Agricultural Information

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Industrial- Medical revolution

Began in England in the mid- 1700s and spread to the US in the 1800s.

Dramatic increase in environmental impact

High standard of living Greatly increased

agricultural production Lower infant mortality Increase in population

growth

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Slide 4

Industrial-Medical Revolution

Trade-Offs

Good News Bad News

Mass production of useful and affordable products

Increased air pollution

Longer life expectancy

Soil depletion and degradation

Greatly increased agricultural production

Increased urbanization

Lower rate of population growth

Increased water pollution

Groundwater depletion

Habitat destruction and degradation

Higher standard of living for many

Lower infant mortality

Increased waste pollution

Biodiversity depletion

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Information – Globalization Revolution Global access to information Faster response time to environmental problems Potential overload of data Decrease in cultural diversity

Information

60,000 12,000 mid 1700s 1950 presentHunter-Gatherer Agricultural Industrial

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Slide 5

Information-Globalization Revolution

Trade-Offs

Good News Bad News

Remote-sensing satellite surveys of the world’s environmental systems

Ability to respond to environmental problems more effectively and rapidly

Globalized economy can increase environmental degradation by homogenizing the earth’s surface

Globalized economy can decrease cultural diversity

Computer-generated models and maps of the earth’s environmental systems

Information overload can cause confusion and sense of hopelessness

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The Environmental History of the United States

Tribal Frontier Conservation Environmental

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Tribal & Frontier Conservation Environmental

Tribal Era (for at least 10,000 years before 1600’s)

5 – 10 million Native Americans Hunting, gathering, burning/clearing, planting

crops Deep respect for nature Low environmental impact

Frontier Era (1607 – 1890) Inexhaustible resources Wilderness to be tamed and conquered

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Conservation Era (1832 – 1960) Protection of land as legacy for future Henry David Thoreau & George Perkins Marsh 1892: John Muir and preservationist movement 1901-1909: Theodore Roosevelt (Golden Age

of Conservation)

Tribal Frontier Conservation Environmental

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Early environmental philosophers• The industrial revolution inspired reaction.

• John Ruskin: Criticized polluted 19th-century cities, and “desacralizing” nature.

• Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau: Transcendentalists viewed nature as divine, and opposed materialism.

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The preservation ethic

• John Muir (right, with President Roosevelt at Yosemite) advocated preserving unspoiled nature, for its own sake and for human fulfillment.

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The conservation ethic

• Gifford Pinchot advocated using natural resources, but exploiting them wisely, for the greatest good for the greatest number for the longest time. He advocated a sustainable-yield and multiple-use policy.

• 1st head of forestry service

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The land ethic

• Aldo Leopold urged people to view themselves as part of nature, and to strive to maintain “the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community.”

• Wrote A Sand County Almanac which was published after his death in 1949.

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Environmental Era (1960 to present) 1960s: Rachel Carson & Silent Spring

See Individuals Matters on page 27 1970s: Earth Day and the EPA

Richard Nixon: EPA; ESA 1980s: Anti-environmental movement

Jimmy Carter: DOE, Superfund Ronald Reagan- self proclaimed Sagebrush rebellion which advocated

to reduce federal ownership of lands. 1990s to present: Fighting for what was established in ’60s

and ’70s

Tribal Frontier Conservation Environmental

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Rachel Carson and Silent Spring

•Carson’s 1962 book brought attention to pesticide dangers, and catalyzed environmental awareness.

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Earth Day•Earth Day began in 1970 …

…and is bigger than ever today.

Gaylord Nelson was the principle founder

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EPA and NEPA• In 1970, President

Richard Nixon:• Signed the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) into law

• Created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by executive order

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First wave of environmental policy in the U.S.

Laws to promote land settlement and resource extraction; for example:

• General Land Ordinances, 1785, 1787

• Homestead Act, 1862

• Mineral Lands Act, 1866

• Timber Culture Act, 1873

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Land settlement

U.S. policy encouraged settlers like these in Nebraska, circa. 1860, to move west.

29Mining in Alaska

Resource extraction

Logging in Washington

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Second wave of environmental policy in the U.S.To address impacts of the first wave; for example:

• Creation of national parks• Creation of national forests• Soil conservation policy• Wilderness Act, 1964

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Third wave of environmental policy in the U.S.

Modern environmental activism and policy arose in response to pollution and other problems.

• Silent Spring• Earth Day• EPA and National Environmental Policy Act• Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act

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EPA ( Environmental Protection Agency)

Was directed to:

Conduct and evaluate research Monitor environmental quality Set and enforce standards (e.g., for pollutants) Assist states in meeting standards Educate the public

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NEPA ( National Environmental Policy Act)

Created the Council on Environmental Quality

Mandated environmental impact statements for public projects

and has: Prioritized understanding our impacts on the environment Slowed down or prevented environmentally destructive

development Given citizens a say in the policy process

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Key environmental protection laws, 1963-1985

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Environmental justice (EJ)

• Poor people and minorities suffer more than their share of environmental problems, EJ advocates say.

The EJ movement began with a protest against a toxic waste dump in an African-American community in North Carolina.

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Environmental justice and the Navajo

Navajo miners were not warned of radiation risks nor provided protection by the industry or the U.S. government when they went to work in uranium mines.