History of Environmental Movement in the U.S.
Mar 27, 2015
History of Environmental Movement in the U.S.
The first people of North America (25K years ago)
• Native American peoples
• mostly hunters/gatherers
• little mass agriculture kept population in check
• culture had great respect for nature
Exploitation Years (1620-1900)
• First colonists brought with them 3 symbolic items:
• axe
• plow
• gun
• Manifest Destiny: westward expansion, resource exploitation was God’s will.
Exploitation Years
• Myth of superabundance
• Examples:
• wildlife resources- buffalo
• forests- Wisconsin
• prairies- Cattle Barons, Sod Busters
Early Leaders in Conservation
• Henry David Thoreau- Walden Pond, called for “preservation” of environment
• George Perkins Marsh- Man and Nature, called for “conservation” of environment.
• John Wesley Powell- Grand Canyon
• Creation of Yellowstone Park (1872)
Conservation Years
1900-WWII
Early Leaders in Conservation
• John Muir- president of Sierra Club. 1st private conservation organization.
• Gifford Pinchot- 1st chief forester. Brought scientific forestry to practice.
• Teddy Roosevelt (1901-1909)- avid outdoorsman, hunter, 1st president to call for conservation of the environment.
FDR, The “New Deal”, and Conservation Initiatives
• Tennessee Valley Autority (TVA)- dams and other power services
• Soil Conservation Service
• Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)- many conservation projects, put thousands of unemployed men to work
• Eastern National Forests Created
The Environmental Era
(1950-present)
Aldo Leopold
• Park Service employee
• Professor of Forestry at UW- Madison
• Wrote “A Sand County Almanac”
• Developed an “Environmental Ethic”• “We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us.
When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”
The 1960’s
• Racism and Civil Rights
• Santa Barbara Oil Spill
• Cuyahoga River burns for 3 days
• Space flight, our 1st pictures of a finite Earth
Significant Environmental Legislation
• Wilderness Act (1964)- permanent preservation of designated wild lands
• Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (1968)
• National Environmental Policy Act (1969)- created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• The Clean Air Act (1970)- greatly expanded protection of air
Significant Environmental Legislation
• The Clean Water Act (1972)- protection of all surface water in US
• Endangered Species Act (1973)- identify and protect endangered species
• Superfund (1980)- established rules for disposal of hazardous waste, punishment for illegal dumping
Permanent Protection for the Environment
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR)
• handouts