Chapter 2: History of Environmental Science

Conservation vs. PreservationModern Environmental Movement

Key Players and Viewpoints

Cultural Changes & the Environment

Human Impact on EnvironmentHunters & Gatherers 12,000 years ago

Agricultural Revolution 10,000 – 12,000 Years Ago

Agricultural Revolution

A. Slash & Burn Cultivation

Agricultural RevolutionB. Shifting Cultivation

Industrial Revolution1700s – England, 1800s- U.S.

Human Population Growth

Information & Globalization Revolution ~ 60 Years Ago

Cultural Changes & the Environment Results

1. More energy & technologies to alter & control planet

2. Expansion of human population; increase food supply & lifespan

3. Increase environmental impact because of an increase in resource use, pollution and environmental degradation

Environmental History of US Divided into 4 Eras

1. Tribal2. Frontier3. Conservation4. Environmental

Tribal Era

TRIBAL (up through 1600s) • low environmental

impact due to small pops, little technology, lack of infrastructure, little mobility, small footprint, high death rate

Frontier Movement

• FRONTIER (1600s – 1890s) • Colonists begin settling North America • Transfer of land from public to private, idea of

privatization of resources• Natural resources seemed inexhaustible,

exploited quickly• Massive deforestation of the West as it was

settled cheaply

Frontier Settlement

Conservation Movement• Alarmed at the rate of degradation, urged for

protection of resources for future generations

(1864) Man and Nature by George Marsh, discussed human impact as agents of global environmental change

Conservation Movement• Alarmed at the rate of degradation, urged for

protection of resources for future generations(1854) Life in the Woods/Walden by Henry David Thoreau, in tune with nature

Conservation Movement• Alarmed at the rate of degradation, urged for

protection of resources for future generations(1872) 1st National Park created = Yellowstone(1873) US establishes National Forest Reserves (resources for future generations)

(1892) John Muir 1st President of the Sierra Club

• argued nature should exist for its own sake • leader of the preservationist movement

1905 US Forest Service Created

(1905) President Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot

argued that forests should be saved not for beauty or habitat BUT to provide homes and jobs for people, for the “greatest good of the people” Pinchot was first chief of US Forest Service based on principles of sustainable yield and multiple use

(1906) Antiquities Act

allowed president to protect areas of interest on federal lands as national monuments, Devils Tower, Wyoming, 1st Natl. monument

Hetch Hetchy Valley (Yosemite National Park)

Early 20th Century US Conservation movement Split- Wise use/conservationist school – Roosevelt &

Pinchot- All public lands managed wisely – use resources

- Preservationist School – Muir- Wilderness areas on public lands left untouched

• (1916) National Park Service created (idea advocated by Muir + preservationists)

• (1949) A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold – advocate of land ethic perspective

MODERN ENVIRONMENTALISM(1962) Silent Spring by Rachel Carson awakened public to threats of pollution and chemicals to species warned of indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides (DDT) advocated preservation of quality of resources

(1968) The Population Bomb by Paul Ehrlich

damage to Earth’s support system from human population explosion

(1970) First National Earth Day, EPA was established

Global Environmentalism concerned with life support systems of the planet not just one particular issue(1972) UN Conference on Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden(1992) UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro discussed effects of human activities on environmental systemsJune 2012, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Sustainable Development Government

1980s

- Anti-environmental movement - Reagan not popular with environmental &

resource policies- Wise-use movement (industry-backed, anti-

environmental)

1990s

- Clinton promised national and global environmental leadership- Criticized for failing to push hard enough

5 Most Important Environmental Issues to be Faced in 21st Century

1. Threat of climate change and ecosystem/economic disruption from warming

2. Growing water shortages & political conflicts over water

3. Continuing population growth4. Continuing biodiversity loss5. Continuing poverty