Lecture 2: Environmental History in the United States

Importance of Studying Environmental History Key Time Periods in Environmental History

US Environmental Policy: 1780’s – late 1800’s Conservation Movement: late 1800’s – early 1900’s The Dust Bowl and the “New Deal”: 1930’s and 1940’s The Chemical/Nuclear Revolution: 1950’s Environmental Movement 1960’s – 1970’s

▪ Why is Spring so Silent?▪ Environmental Legislation▪ Earth Day

Current mindset about environmental issues? ▪ Student exercise

To understand the key moments and important figures within environmental history

To distinguish between “conservation” and “environmental” perspectives and to examine how these concepts have influenced US policy

To learn about the Environmental Movement and the resulting legislation

To construct a recent environmental history timeline and to analyze the current environmental political climate

Environmental US history is an important topic for several reasons: It clearly mirrors our social paradigms and gives us a

perspective on how we have progressed as a society It provides a foundation for understanding the

current environmental situation and for understanding the underpinnings of US environmental policy

It provides insight into the human psyche, and it helps us understand philosophically our connections with the “natural” world

It may help provide insight into future environmental crises and into the human reactions to said crises

Many colleges and universities teach entire courses on environmental history. Some have complete degree programs in environmental history. There are many environmental historians in academia. How can I, then, effectively condense such an important and wide-breadth topic into only one lecture? I can’t, really. However, this lecture will provide a general overview of some of the key events and figures that have influenced our environmental perspectives. What do I expect for you to get from this lecture? Most historians would balk if all we did is memorize names and

dates. Hopefully I will go beyond that and explain the reasoning behind why these events and why these people are so important. With this being said, I still would like for you to know who these people are and the times when important things happened.

I want you to be able to synthesize the events and occurrences and to put them within a US historical context

Lastly I would like for you to evaluate your own environmental experiences within the last couple decades and create a recent environmental timeline for the 1980’s - present

I am starting this lecture with the birth of our Nation. By that I don’t mean to imply that there were not any significant human-environmental interactions prior to. However, in the interest of time I would like to focus on the history of US environmental policy. The majority of information for this part of the lecture is derived from Merchant (2002), The Columbia Guide to American Environmental History, published by Columbia University Press, NY.

http://www.americanpresident.org/history/

johnadams/biography/resources/images/

TreatyofParis.image.jpg

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Review the Continental Congress from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Congress

During this time period the US territory greatly expanded from Coast to Coast. 1803: Louisiana Purchase from France 1819: Gulf of Mexico including Florida from Spain 1845: Annexation of Texas from Mexico (and

Texas) 1846: Oregon Treaty from England 1853: Gadsden Purchase (southern Arizona and

New Mexico) from Mexico All this land, from Sea to Shining Sea, within

only three generations (Merchant, 2002)!! What happened to all this “new” land?

Sell it to the people! From 1785 – late 1800’s there was a great

change in land ownership. The US Government sold thousands of acres. There was a great changeover from public land

to private. The American West was “settled”. The Railroads brought in tons of people, and

the land was claimed by homesteaders, logging companies, mining companies, and ranchers

After the Revolutionary War, there was an incentive by the Continental Congress to convert all the land west of the Appalachians into a great “public domain to be parceled out to citizens” (Merchant, 2002).

http://www.americanrevolution.com/ContinentalCongress.jpgJohn Trumbull's (June 6, 1756 – November 10, 1843) famous painting depicts the signing of the Declaration.

The Confederation of Congress provided for the “vast public domain” to be converted into private property (Merchant, 2002) Federal Surveyors superimposed a grid

consisting of East-West and North-South lines at 1 mile intervals. These lines divided the landscape into townships, which were 6 square miles. Each township was further subdivided into 36 sections.▪ The primary goal was to raise money to pay off War debt

This laid the foundation for the US Land Policy until the Homestead Act of 1864 (Wikipedia)

1 mi2 = 640 acres

SOURCE: http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/images/page2_large.gif

At first, the price of public land was pretty expensive In 1785 the cost was $1/acre, but a

person had to buy at a minimum one whole section (640 acres).

Only the most wealthy (e.g. Easterners) could afford this price.

Land Act of 1796 actually increased the price to $2/acre and increased the minimum purchase to 5760 acres

With the election of Thomas Jefferson, a more democratic government ensued. Harrison Land Act 1804:

reduced the minimum land area a person needed to purchase to 120 acres (in Ohio).▪ Still $2/acre

Later in 1804 Congress decreased the price to $1.64/acre and minimum land area to 160 acres

1820 = the price dropped again to $1.25/acre and the minimum was reduced to 80 acres http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/Amer_pol_hist/fi/00000051.jpg

From Merchant (2002)

What about the not-so-affluent people during this time? Many people just moved to an area on public land, cleared

the land, built houses and fences, farmed, and brought in livestock. All of this occurred without purchasing the land (at first). These people were referred to as “squatters”. Today these people would be shot and arrested (in that order – interjecting humor). But back in the Day, the US Government actually afforded squatters legal protection

Preemption Act of 1841 (a.k.a. “Log Cabin Law”): Legalized squatting US Citizens that were heads of households, widows, or single

men over the age of 21 could own land provided:▪ They lived on the land for 14 months or longer▪ They paid $1.25 per acre and purchased at least 160 acres

During the latter half of the Nineteenth Century, the Government desired to sell off much of the remaining unsettled land.

The method for doing this was to make the land available at almost no cost to anyone who wanted it and agreed to settle/develop.

This was accomplished through the Homestead Act of 1862

The Homestead Act greatly contributed to the conversion of public land into private land One quarter of a section of a township (160 acres) of the undeveloped American West

could be purchased by any family head or single person over the age of 21 provided:▪ They live on the land for 5 years for the purpose of “settlement and cultivation” (Merchant, 2002).▪ They build a house▪ They paid an entry cost of $10

Most of the fertile land had already been occupied by the time this Act was initiated

Only the drier, less-fertile areas were available Most of this land was too arid to develop any significant cultivation.

▪ People didn’t understand the concept of “biomes” and that you can’t plant grassland crops (wheat, corn, rice, barley, etc.) in a semi-arid or arid climate.

▪ 160 acres wasn’t enough to support livestock in the Arid West; more land was needed▪ The West was getting progressively more dry. Evidence from Hohokam Indian archeology

suggests that there was sufficient moisture (with the use of irrigation) to develop large-scale agriculture. It was much wetter then (300 – 900 AD). Since that time the climate has become drier, and there were great droughts in the Great Plains during the mid to late 1800’s (Merchant, 2002).

There were many abuses of the Homestead Act Private individuals working under the guise of ranching operations would “settle” land

only to control resources, such as water, for said ranchers. Range wars ensued (see a million different Western movies).

Similarly, mining companies and logging companies would have a person claim land through the HA 1862 under the pretense of establishing a home/farm. A makeshift house would be built, but it is was usually only a façade. This homestead “claim” was a means through which the mining and logging companies could acquire more land and control the resources (Merchant, 2002).

Besides the Homestead Act, there were several other Acts put forth to “settle” the American West.

Again, during this time you see a major change over from public land to private in a frenzied land grab.

Not only where private citizens acquiring land, but also logging companies, mining companies, and ranchers were staking claims to large parcels.

This will set the stage for the “Conservation Movement”, and ultimately the “Environmental Movement” and theses actions will have a significant legacy on modern US Environmental Policy

Mining Act 1872: “All valuable mineral deposits in lands belonging to the US shall be free and open to explore and purchase”, as quoted within Merchant (2002).

Timber Culture Act 1873: anyone who planted 40 acres of trees would be given an additional 160 acres of land Note: by 1873 most of the arable land had already been occupied. The land

mentioned in the TCA 1873 was the arid leftovers. People once again (private and government) either paid no heed to a “biome” concept or just didn’t realize that you can’t grow trees in a semi-arid or arid environment.

Desert Land Act 1877: the US Government would give 640 acres of arid or semi-arid land to anyone who would promise to pay $1.25 per acre and promise to irrigate the land for a minimum of 3 years. Question: How much water was available for irrigation in the arid/semi-arid

regions of the Southwest? Probably not a whole lot. Timber and Stone Act 1878: this was an attempt to sell the public land

that was unfit for agriculture to logging and mining companies or anyone else who wanted it. The Act set a price of $2.50/acre in increments of 160 acre blocks.

Free Timber Act 1878: this Act gave the right for people to cut timber on public lands reserved for mineral use. This timber was to be used in the construction of buildings (homes, etc.)

Railroads: In addition the development of railroads brought in volumes of immigrants from the East

During the latter half of the Nineteenth century, a majority of the US was developed.

The West was seen as vast, wild, and limitless. There were no restrictions put forth on its development or exploitation.

Poor land husbandry was the rule and not the exception

The land and the ecosystems were being pressed like never before.

Take for example the American Buffalo, which were hunted to the brink of extinction.

Before European colonization, buffalo and bison numbered in the millions. By the mid to late 1800’s there were only a few hundred left due to over-hunting (Wikipedia)

The near extermination of the buffalo was due to the importation of non-native livestock, such as cattle and sheep, to clear the land for development, and to remove and demoralize the Native Americans “Every buffalo dead is an Indian gone”

▪ Colonel Richard Doge 1867 as quoted in: Heads, Hides, and Horns, The Complete Buffalo Book, by Larry Barshess – and presented in Merchant (2002)

Source: http://www.gprc.org/tour/tour3.html ; http://www.gprc.org/Graphics/Bisonpile_lg.jpg

Buffalo were slaughtered by the millionsin the 1800’s as exemplified by themound of buffalo skulls, below, in thishistoric photograph (found on Wikipedia)

Legislation during this time was put forth to settle and to utilize the American West for homesteads, logging, mining, farming, and livestock.

“By the late 1800’s most of the unsettled land had been allocated and people began to press for the conservation of natural resources for efficient use and to join a growing national movement to set aside wilderness…for recreation” (Merchant, 2002).

Much of the land was being overexploited

By the end of the Nineteenth Century most of the land and natural resources of the West had been claimed, and the “frontier had come to a close” (Merchant, 2002).

“The perception of abundant unexploited lands teaming with wildlife and fertile soils [turned] into wasted resources and inefficient use” (Merchant, 2002) Timber companies cut trees without reforestation Ranchers overgrazed the perennial grasslands Mining companies also overexploited the land

During this time, several people became aware of the misuse of land. This sparked the “Conservation Movement”

“Conservation = 1. the act or practice of conserving; protection from loss, waste, etc.; preservation 2. the official care and protection of natural resources, as forests.” (Webster’s New World Dictionary)

Optional Exercise: go to “Google” and search: Definition: conservation What are the recurring words?

“Between 1850 and 1920, concern for the natural world emerged as a complex and broadly popular political and cultural movement in the United States. Newly urbanized Americans were becomingly increasingly aware of the importance of nature as an economic, aesthetic, and spiritual resource, especially as they became convinced that nature’s resources were imperiled by industrialization. This movement led to unprecedented public and private initiatives to ensure the conservation of natural resources and the preservation of wildlife and of land”. [This definition is from the Wisconsin Historical Society (www.wisconsinhistory.org)]

“The early conservation movement included fisheries and wildlife conservation, water, soil conservation and sustainable forestry. The contemporary conservation movement has broaden from the early movement's emphasis on use of sustainable yield of natual resouces [misspelled on-line] and preservation of wilderness areas to include preservation of biodiversity. The conservation movement is part of the broader and more far-reaching environmental movement.” This definition is from Wikipedia

Again, what are the recurring words in these definitions?

Protection Natural Resources Sustainability Human use Renewal Preservation Management

http://www.uku.fi/~dlaakson/Logging.jpg

The common threads in these definitions lead to the belief that resources should be preserved (for future use). During the Conservation Movement natural resources were to be protected so they wouldn’t be squandered. In just a little bit we’ll see how certain key individuals wanted to push for the preservation of beautiful, scenic areas (e.g. John Muir, Teddy Roosevelt). The consensus was that the land should be preserved for human benefit, whether it means preserving timber for future generations or preserving scenic land for human enjoyment (getting back to “nature”, escaping the urban environment, demonstrating manhood by killing large game, hunting /fishing /hiking, communicating with “nature”, bird-watching, cultural-religious experiences in the wild, etc.). Note that in the “conservation” definition there is no language explaining that “nature” should be preserved for its own sake; that “nature” has a right to exist irrespective of whether it is beneficial to humans or not (this will come later with the Environmental Movement of the later Twentieth Century).

Keep in mind the historical context. Prior, the American West was viewed as limitless. It was a resource that should be utilized. The “Conservation” of such a limitless resource was heretical, anti-economic, anti-American, and may have been just as profound as many modern leftwing organizations are viewed today. In modern times the notion of National Parks, e.g., is commonplace today and no one would really argue against their existence. That may not have been the case back then.

Many of the early Conservationists were affluent urbanites from the East that enjoyed hiking, fishing, camping, exploring, and hunting in the Great Outdoors. These outdoor activities were mostly reserved for those who could afford to take

vacations, i.e. the wealthy. William Cronon explains this well in The Trouble with Wilderness; or Getting Back to the Wrong Nature, pg 78, second paragraph (required reading).

More rural people who lived off the land (farmers, lumberjacks, etc.) didn’t have the time or resources for these activities, and their existence and livelihood was often threatened by nature. Wilderness to the rural societies was still something to be feared and certainly not cherished.

Many Early Conservationists were writers and authors that preached the beauty and virtue of the outdoors. This is explained in more detail in Cronon (1996).

Several prominent politicians and US Secretaries also expounded the notion of sustainable resources and the value of preserving the wild, frontier-like American tradition.

Other Early Conservationists were just people that enjoyed being outside The next few slides contain a short bio of the more important conservationist

of the time. When reading each of these biographies, please keep in mind the historical context. The views and opinions expressed by these conservationist do not seem all that profound in the modern era, however back then these ideas were not mainstream. Please note that the information included on these slides does not represent all the

contributions that these individuals made. Certainly whole volumes could be written on each one. But due to the interest of time, I had to shorten the amount of information given. I encourage you to research further (on your own) the historical significance of each individual.

Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862) Important Work: Walden; Life in the

Woods Harvard graduate, writer Details the beauty and wonder of the

“natural world” Thoreau lived in a small cabin (self-built) in

the Maine woods for two years, living off the land.

The contribution of Thoreau was that his works inspired the notion of the beauty of nature. He also instilled the merits of “simple living amongst nature”

Thoreau wasn’t totally anti-civilization nor was he anti-urban. He is described as saying: He saw the wilderness of Maine as a place to visit to re-create but not to remain. Thoreau's concept of wilderness was a place used by man. For Thoreau "far in the recesses of the wilderness" of Maine was to "travel the logger's path and the Indian trail" rather than the pristine untouched wilderness we often associate with the word wilderness today (Wikipedia).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Thoreau.jpg

Author, Diplomat, Politician Important Work: Man and Nature (1864)

This is a classic work in environmental studies, and presents the idea that humans are having a deleterious effect on their environment. The Editorial review from Amazon.com states ▪ “George Perkins Marsh challenged the general belief that human impact on

nature was generally benign or negligible and charged that ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean had brought about their own collapse by their abuse of the environment. By deforesting their hillsides and eroding their soils, they had destroyed the natural fertility that sustained their well-being. Marsh offered his compatriots in the United States a stern warning that the young American republic might repeat these errors of the ancient world if it failed to end its own destructive waste of natural resources. Marsh’s ominous warnings inspired conservation and reform. In linking culture with nature, science with history, Man and Nature was the most influential text of its time next to Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, published just five years earlier. “

Excerpt from Man and Nature: “In reclaiming and reoccupying lands laid waste by human improvidence or malice. . . The task is to become a co-worker with nature in the reconstruction of the damaged fabric”, quote taken from Cronon (1995), Uncommon Ground; Rethinking the Human Place in Nature, W. W. Norton and Company, NY. Pg 110. Note use of the terms “damaged fabric”, this would be very progressive

and controversial in the latter Nineteenth Century. Another Excerpt: “Man has too long forgotten that the earth was

given to him for usufruct alone, not for consumption, still less for profligate waste.” Quote taken from Merchant (2002).

Photo from Wikipedia

Chief of the United States Forest Service 1905 – 1910

From Wikipedia: “He is famous for reforming the management and development of forests in the United States and his advocacy of scientific conservation for the planned use and renewal of the nation's forest reserves: "the art of producing from the forest whatever it can yield for the service of man." He coined the term conservation as applied to natural resources. “

Pinchot is responsible for transferring the US Forest Service from the Department of Interior to the Department of Agriculture. This was done because he believed that forests should be managed as if they were a crop (Merchant, 2002). He also instituted sustainable yields and the reforestation after cutting

Pinchot’s ideas were in contrast to US Congress, which due to lobbying by lumber/mining companies, pushed for the uninterrupted cutting of Western timber. (Wikipedia)

With the election of William Taft to the presidency, Pinchot was fired.

http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/PA_Env-er/images/pinchot.jpg

26th President of the US Governor, Vice-President, Assistant Secretary

of the Navy, War Hero, Beloved Politician, Adventure, Explorer, Conservationist, Frontiersman, Nobel Prize winner, and possibly one of the best Americans ever (my personal bias). I should also mention that the famous bear he refused to shoot (because it was injured and that would be unsportsmanlike) was in Mississippi.

Some of Roosevelt’s contributions to the Conservation Movement: Supporter of Pinchot and Forest and Wild land

conservation Author of The Winning of the West, which

inspired active, outdoor recreation Supporter of John Muir Supporter of the establishment of National

Parks

Photo from Wikipedia

Renowned Landscape Architect Designed many urban parks, including

Central Park in New York Visited Yosemite Valley

Olmstead was greatly inspired by the scenic beauty.

His experiences at Yosemite contributed to his legacy of incorporating wilderness into his landscape designs. He believed that nature should be an important component of city life (Merchant, 2002).

His landscape designs helped inspire a nostalgia for nature among urbanites.

Photo from Wikipedia

Viewed by many to be the founder of the Conservation Movement

Probably the most noted Conservationists within his era Accomplishments and Accolades

Founder of the Sierra Club Protector of the Yosemite Valley Helped in the creation of Yosemite National Park (and the creation

of the concept of National Parks to some degree) Influential Friend of President Roosevelt

Described by Goldfarb (2000)“ Muir was a vociferous proponent of an ecocentric rather than an ethnocentric philosophical perspective. He challenged the prevailing view of most of the conservationist of his time, who tempered their respect for nature with the multiple-use concept that gave primacy to human needs and appetites. The preservationist movement, supported by Muir, saw the need to set aside wilderness areas where no commercial or industrial activity would be permitted. The first such “primitive areas” were established by an administrative fiat of the U.S. Forest Service in the 1920’s, a decade after Muir’s death, but they were not officially protected by federal law until the passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964,” from Notable Selections in Environmental Studies Second Edition, pg. 3 – 4. Required Reading

Environmental activist who attempted to stop the construction of a dam during his time (see Hetch Hetch Valley essay; required reading).

Photo from Wikipedia

Muir quote (taken from Wikipedia) "Why should man value himself as more

than a small part of the one great unit of creation? And what creature of all that the Lord has taken the pains to make is not essential to the completeness of that unit - the cosmos? The universe would be incomplete without man; but it would also be incomplete without the smallest transmicroscopic creature that dwells beyond our conceitful eyes and knowledge."

Many of the National Parks were established during the Conservation Movement Yellowstone National Park – 1872 National Park Act 1916: was

proposed to “conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein”, Quote from Merchant (2002)

Yosemite National Park – 1890 Sequoia National Park – 1890 General Grant National Monument

-1890 Mt. Rainer National Park – 1899 Creator Lake NP – 1902 Mesa Verde NP – 1906 Glacier NP – 1910 Grand Canyon NP - 1919

Yellowstone (Wikipedia)

Yosemite (Wikipedia)

Can you guess the rock type?

(Yosemite contains world-famous granite outcrops, an intrusive igneous rock – pluton)

Note: National Parks are an American inventionAnd the US was one of the firstCountries to set aside land forpreservation

Several prominent Outdoor Clubs were borne out of the Conservation Movement. This “Outdoor Movement” as it is sometimes referred to was initiated by the upper class who desired access to wilderness for leisure and recreational purposes (Merchant, 2002). Additionally, many of these clubs were established to preserve areas of great scenic beauty. Appalachian Mountain Club (1876): http://www.outdoors.org/ Boone and Crockett Club (1887): http://www.boone-

crockett.org/▪ Theodore Roosevelt is the founder

Mazamas of Portland, Oregon (1894): http://www.mazamas.org/ Sierra Club, John Muir founder (1892):

http://www.sierraclub.org/ Merchant (2002) writes: The upper class viewed

“wilderness” as a threatened treasure to be “cherished and preserved”. Wilderness represented the “American character”

Derived from the overexploitation of land during the Nineteenth Century

“Conservation” meant to preserve for future use or to preserve because it was meaningful to humanity

John Muir’s influence laid the foundation for a more “environmental” philosophical view of nature, as opposed to a “conservation” philosophy

Many of our National Parks and conservation clubs sprung out of the Conservation Movement

The Conservation Movement continued throughout the early Twentieth century. There were several key events though that strengthened the need for creating conservation legislation.

Most notably in the 1930’s was the combination of drought + poor agricultural land management + poor economy. These events acted in tandem and nearly destroyed farming in the Midwest. The infamous “Dust Bowl” prompted a more conservation-minded paradigm shift.

www.photolib.noaa.gov/.../big/wea01414.jpg

From Abbot (2006) Natural Disasters 5th Edition, McGraw Hill, NY, pg. 307 “ What happened to cause the drought? Recurrent

large-scale meanders in the upper-air flow resulting in descending air. The upper-level high-pressure air was already dry, but as it sank, it became warmer, thus reaching the ground hot, dry, and thirsty. As the winds blew across the ground surface, they sucked up moisture, killing plants and exposing bare soil to erosion. Wind-blown clouds of dust built into towering masses of turbulent air and dust called rollers… When they rolled across an area, the Sun was darkened, and dust invaded every possible opening on a human body and came though every crack in a home. Dust even blew as visible masses across East Coast cities and blanketed ships at sea.”

http://eh.net/graphics/encyclopedia/dustbowl/fig1.jpg

The poor agricultural practices didn’t cause the drought, droughts are common in the Midwest, it just accentuated the drought effect (Abbott, 2006).

Examples of poor agricultural practices Plowing deep, straight rows without windbreaks Removing the more drought-resistant native grasslands

and replacing them with more water-needy agricultural grasses, such as wheat and corn.▪ Here again we see a failure to recognize the importance of

biomes and the natural climate-vegetation interactions. The Dust Bowl occurred on the heels of the Great

Depression, and it prompted one of the greatest migrations in US history.

“Now the wind grew strong and hard,It worked at the rain crustIn the corn fields.

Little by little the skyWas darkened by the mixing dust,And the wind felt over the earth,Loosened the dust and carried it away”

John Steinbeck, quote presented in Abbott (2006)

FDR’s “New Deal”: the Federal Government promoted conservation that benefited workers and was intended to “repair” the country from the Great Depression (Merchant, 2002). “Wise management became

the hallmark of the New Deal era” (Merchant, 2002).

Photo from Wikipedia

A “work relief” program created by FDR and borne out of the “New Deal” was established to “combat” unemployment. The young men in the CCC

were used for manual labor:▪ Build trails and buildings

within national parks and state parks

▪ Build canals, levees, dams▪ Wildfire suppression

Photograph from Wikipedia

Taylor Grazing Act 1934: limited grazing on the Great Plains to preserve the soil and to prevent erosion (Merchant, 2002)

Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act 1935: “allowed the government to pay farmers to reduce production so as to "conserve soil", prevent erosion, and accomplish other minor goals. (Brinkley, 1999 "p. 879")” quote from Wikepedia, Brinkley reference = Brinkley, Alan (1999). American History: A Survey, Tenth Edition. McGraw-Hill College.

Pittman-Robertson, Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act 1937: provided funds to States for the “management and restoration of wildlife” (http://ipl.unm.edu/cwl/fedbook/pract.html)

Money was generated from the sale of hunting/fishing licenses.

Once again I am skipping ahead a decade or so. This doesn’t imply that there were not other important Acts or important environmental/conservationist issues. But in the interest of time, I need to get to the Environmental Movement of the 1960’s

During the late 1940’s and 1950’s there was an explosion (pun intended) of new chemical products and advances in nuclear technologies.

Regarding the Chemicals, advances were made in developing Pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides Petroleum products Plastics Shampoos, toy dinosaurs, rubber, vaccines, you name it! Chemical manufacturing plants sprung up across the Nation

▪ As an example (but later in time), read A Civil Action by John Harr.▪ Also as an example, Hooker Chemical company dumps waste from such

chemical/military processing plants in an area near Niagara, NY, which eventually becomes one of the most horrific environmental disasters – the infamous “Love Canal”

In addition to the chemical revolution, there were significant advances with nuclear technologies

Photo from BBC

Needless to say, many of these advances raised much concern! Did anyone have to do nuclear bomb evacuation drills as a student?

Many of the advances in the chemical/nuclear fields created a whole slue of new environmental problems Nuclear war, fallout, meltdowns, etc. Toxic waste dumps, people getting sick from

toxic materials Public concern was mounting, and this

concern coupled with poor land use and loss of wildlife prompted the “Environmental Movement” of the 1960’s and 1970’s

The Environmental Movement represents a grassroots effort to raise public awareness and to help preserve the quality of life (e.g. Clean Air, Safe Drinking Water, Clean Water, Endangered Species, etc.)

This movement was prompted by the general public. This is somewhat different then the Conservation Movement, which was more of an upper-middle class movement to preserve resources.

Also slightly different from the Conservation Movement, the Environmental Movement sought to protect wildlife and nature, not just because they had explicit value to humans, but because the environment should be preserved for its own sake.

Make sure you see the distinctions between the two movements

Perhaps one of the most influential works that helped instigate the Environmental Movement was the book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Carlson, a marine biologist by trade, wrote about how pesticides were destroying the innocent wildlife. The term “Silent Spring” is used to explain the disappearance of song birds due to the broad-scale applications of DDT

Read the excerpt from Silent Spring (a Word document that accompanies this presentation.) Carlson was an excellent writer and I believe that you can see how well she presents her argument. Her work was heavily criticized by industry, but was supported by academic research from colleges and universities. This work also greatly inspired President JFK and may have contributed to the passing of many environmental policy legislation, such as the 1964 Wilderness Act.

Photo from Wikipedia

Color Television: blue or green toxins spilling into a stream, as shown on local news, is more profound in color than seeing it in black and white. Red whale blood from whaling operations spilling into the ocean is also more dramatic on color TV than on black and white TV. Also the “Ad Campaign ran successful environmental ads on TV, such as “The Crying Indian”.

Apollo 11 landing on the Moon: the general public saw the Earth from space. Seeing “Mother Earth” and realizing the physical bounds of the planet may have helped contribute to a more environmental mindset.

Source: http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/images11.html#5903

Photo from BBC

“Iron Eyes Cody”Photo from Wikipedia

Disappearance of Wildlife: due to over hunting, America saw population decline of several key species. For example, Buffalo, alligators, and

probably most important our Nation’s symbol the Bald Eagle.

Photo and imageFrom Wikipedia

The 60’s were also a time of major social/political change in the US. These other social movements may have helped influence the Environmental Movement

http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kevhat/Civil%20Rights%20MLK.JPG

http://www.sixtiescity.com/Culture/Images/hippies.jpg

http://timmer.org/HISTORY_20/Online%20Readings/Images/free_speech3_sm.JPGhttp://wel.anu.edu.au/WEL_MARCH03.jpg

During the late 1960’s – 1970’s much of the Nation’s environmental legislation was passed. These laws are unique and represent one of the first attempts by any major industrialized nation to pass laws to protect the environment.

It is worth noting that the environmental bills were sparked by public concern for the environment. This is a bottom -> up as opposed to a top-> down movement.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 1969 Decreed that any “major” or “significant” action by the federal

government must consider the environmental impact (from Wikipedia). Prior to any federal action, there must be an Environmental Impact

Statement, which is a lengthy investigation of how the proposed action would influence the air, water, species, noise, culture, archeology, etc.

This only applies to federal actions (not private development; it also doesn’t include military actions), however if a private developer has to get a federal permit, then that becomes a “federal action” that would warrant an Environmental Impact Statement.▪ As an example, wetlands are regulated by the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE),

Department of Defense, as mandated by Section 404 of the Clean Water Act of 1972. If a developer wishes to develop a wetland, the developer would have to get a permit through the ACE. Because this is a federal permit it becomes a federal action, and thus the developer would be required to have an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

NEPA also created the Council on Environmental Quality (part of the Executive Branch) that is in charge of EIS format, regulations, and reviews. The link below will take you to the CEQ’s website. http://www.whitehouse.gov/ceq/

Clean Air Act 1963: set regulations for air quality Wilderness Act 1964: legally defined wilderness and set

aside close to 9 million acres of Wilderness areas to be federally protected

Clean Water Act 1972: restricted effluent to waterways, protected wetlands, charged the Army Corps of Engineers to protect all “navigable waterways”, set regulations for water quality.

Marine Mammals Act 1972: prevents the hunting, killing, collecting, etc. of marine mammals (even within the ‘high seas’).

Safe Drinking Water Act 1972: Set standards for drinking water quality.

Endangered Species Act 1973: prevents government and private individuals from taking, collecting, hunting, molesting, trapping, etc. species that are endangered. It also provides protection for “critical habitat” of endangered species.

Note: these Acts will be discussed in greater detail during the semester

Additionally, Earth Day was created to generate environmental awareness and encourage environmental activism.

Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon had significant roles in passing these laws. Note that the environmental legislation transcends Democrat/Republican party lines.

During the 1960’s and 1970’s environmental protection was greatly overestimated. At first protection seemed clear cut. The factory billowing pollutants out of smokestacks or that pumped toxic waste into the water was a clear and easily recognized polluter. It was easy to enforce the new regulations. More modern enforcement is much more convoluted. Similarly seeing whales hunted on television and witnessing the decline in bald eagles made the Endangered Species Act regulations seem cut and dry. But the ESA has generated a lot of controversy, e.g. snail darters and the Tellico Dam, logging and spotted owl, etc. These Acts have had their share of criticism.

However great these Acts are for initially setting US environmental policy and for bringing an environmental mentality to the federal government, they have been criticized by both the left and the right. On one hand they are demonized for being too restrictive and interfering with the “pursuit of happiness” as granted by the First Amendment. We will discuss more about environmental law towards the end of the semester. On the other hand, these federal environmental regulations are viewed as being too weak, or anemic, and not efficacious. Academically these acts have also been the subject of debate. Some of the arguments are as follows

(not my arguments per se but arguments that I have heard discussed):, how do you protect a species without protecting its habitat? Furthermore, what is an endangered species being that ‘species’ and ‘endangered’ are terms that are difficult to define? How much habitat is needed for each species? Shouldn’t there have been an Endangered Habitat Act instead? Regarding pollution, why are there separate policies for protecting the atmosphere and for protecting the hydrosphere? How do we regulate non point -source pollutants? Are they not all interrelated?

Real environmental protection is very complicated and intertwined, not a simple cut and dry policy.

However these laws have made a significant contribution to environmental quality. For example eagles are back and the air is cleaner, just to name a few successes.

We will go over this in much more detail during the “Environmental Policy” lectures towards the end of the semester. For right now, all I want you to do is be aware of this legislation and to understand the historical context through which they were passed.

Grassroots effort to protect the “quality” of life Environmental Movement was sparked by public

concern, and may be interrelated to other social movements of the 1960s Other factors, such as color TV, disappearance of wildlife,

etc. may have contributed to the Environmental Movement.

The publication of Silent Spring was very influential in creating public concern about the environment

Several key environmental legislation and the official US Environmental Policy was borne out of this Movement

Modern US environmental policy is still based on the legislation of the 1960’s and 1970’s and their legacy still persists today.

All of you have lived through this time period, and you have witnessed events that have shaped your own perspectives about the environment. You may have also noted recent changes in US environmental policy.

It is important to think about the events and policies that have influenced the US environmental paradigm.