Environmental History: Learning from the Past

Overview

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Human Cultural History

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U.S. Environmental History

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Aldo Leopold

Human Culture History: Hunter-Gatherer Culture

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Hunter-gatherers

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Nomadic

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Usually limited environmental impact

Human Culture History: The Agricultural Revolution

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Agriculture: stay put and farm instead of gathering

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Slash and burn/ shifting cultivation

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Essentially sustainable resource use.

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Increased environmental impact.

Human Culture History: The Industrial Revolution

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Industrial Revolution (mid-1700’s) Medical Revolution

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Shift to dependence on non-renewable resources.

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Dramatic increase in environmental impact.

Human Culture History: The Information Revolution

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Information Revolution

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Rate of information increase and speed of communication

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Globalization

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Decrease in cultural diversity

United States Environmental History: The Tribal and Frontier Eras

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Tribal Era : Native Americans caused some extinctions, but generally were low-impact hunter-gather or agricultural societies

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Frontier Era Environmental Worldview:

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European Settlement (1607-1890) Significant impact as wilderness frontier was “tamed”

United States Environmental History: The Early Conservation Era

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Early Conservation Era: 1832-1960

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Concern over resource use

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Preservation of public lands

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Public health initiatives

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Environmental restoration projects

Important Figures During The Early Conservation Era

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Henry David Thoreau

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George Perkins Marsh

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John Muir

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Theodore Roosevelt

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Gifford Pinchot

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Franklin Roosevelt

United States Environmental History: The Environmental Era

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The Environmental Era (1960-Today) Began with Silent Spring

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The first Earth Day 1970

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1970’s: Major environmental Laws

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1980’s: Backlash against environmentalism

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1990’s : Environmental awareness

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2000’s: Some backlash against environmentalism

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2010’s: Environmentalism ?

Important Figures of the Environmental Era

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Rachel Carson: Silent Spring (1962)

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Richard Nixon: EPA; ESA

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Jimmy Carter: DOE, Superfund (CERCLA)

Important Figures During the Environmental Era

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Ronald Reagan

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Bill Clinton

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George W. Bush Jr.

Other Key Figures in the Environmental Movement

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Abbey, Edward Adams, Ansel Audubon, John Bennet, Hugh Berry, Wendell Borlang, Norman Commoner, Barry Ehrlich, Paul

Other Key Figures in the Environmental Movement

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Hamilton, Alice Hardin, Garrett Gibbs, Lois Nader, Ralph Simon, Julian Sinclair, Upton

Aldo Leopold and His Land Ethic

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A Sand County Almanac

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Problems arise when land viewed as a commodity

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Preservation of the integrity, stability, and beauty of land is right

Aldo Leopold and His Land Ethic

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Individuals are interdependent

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Ethics: respect for land

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Shift from conqueror to member