history of environmentalism conservation vs. preservation
TRANSCRIPT
History of EnvironmentalismConservation
Vs.
Preservation
CONSERVATION
• Managing and protecting natural resources and using them sustainably.
• Focus on instrumental value
Teddy Roosevelt’s Administration- early 1900’s
• Creation of the US Forest Service
• Expansion of National Forest holdings
• Establishment of 53 wildlife refuges
National Forest Service• Created 1905• Multiple, Sustainable
Use Policy
• To be “used for the greatest good, for the greatest number for the longest time”
Gifford Pinchot• 1865-1946• First American-born
Forester• Began his career at
Biltmore Estate• Appointed First
Chief of the U.S. Forest Service
Carl Schenck• German-born
Forester hired to manage Biltmore Estate Forest Land now known as Pisgah National Forest.
• Developed the First American Forestry School 1895
George Perkins Marsh
• Man and Nature published in 1864
• Called attention to the destructive impact of human activity on land, especially through deforestation.
• Advocated conservation
PRESERVATION• Protecting natural environments
from human development
• Focus on intrinsic value
• “nature deserves to exist for its own sake regardless of its usefulness to us.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson• Wrote Nature 1836• A Unitarian Minister,
he believed that nature was the manifestation of the spiritual world.
• “Mystical unity of nature” basis for transcendentalism
Henry David Thoreau
• Wrote Walden Pond
• Utopia• Called for the
establishment of “national preserves” of virgin forest
John Muir• Believed in
preservation of pristine wilderness areas
• Founded the Sierra Club in 1892
• “Father of National Parks”
Frederick Law Olmstead
• Father of American Landscape Architecture
• Developed Central Park in 1857
• Worked extensively on Biltmore Estate
Olmstead’s Words• Served as the foundation for legislation
establishing the National Park Service: “To conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations..”
National Park Service• Founded in 1916• To preserve for the
benefit, use, and inspiration of present and future generations…
Creation of National Parks
• 1872 • Yellowstone
• World’s First National Park
1930’s Ecology and Economy Clash
• Hetch-Hetchy Valley• Civilian Conservation
Corps (CCC)• Tennessee Valley
Authority (TVA)• Soil Conservation
Service (SCS)
Post WWII• Strong economic and Population Growth
• Dramatic increase in recreation in National Parks
1940 1950 1960 16 million 33 million 79 million
Science and Awareness
Scientific research documented the effects of humans on the environment.
Major popular books:• Aldo Leopold’s Sand
County Almanac 1949• Rachel Carson’s Silent
Spring 1962• Paul Ehrlich’s
Population Bomb 1968
Rachel Carson• Alerted the general
public in 1962 to the dangers of pesticides in her book Silent Spring.
• This work led to the banning of DDT in 1972.
PolarizationContinued urban growth and associated
pollution caused divergence of:
1. Those who supported and profited from industrialization (‘industry’).
2. Those who worried about the effects of pollution (‘environmentalists’).
The Rise of National Green Organizations (NGO’s)
• World Wildlife Federation (WWF) 1961
• Environmental Defense Fund 1967
Catalysts
• 1969 Burning of the Cuyahoga River, OH
Catalyst• 1969 Santa
Barbara Oil Spill
New Legislation
The Federal Government Responds:
• 1963 Clean Air Act
• 1965 Water Quality Act
• 1966 Endangered Species Conservation Act
• 1968 National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
Issues of the 1960’ and 1970’s
Human Population Growth
Nuclear Weapons Testing
Nuclear Power
Fossil Fuel Drilling
Recycling Air Pollution
Water Pollution
Wilderness Protection
Landfilling Waste
1970’s The Environmental Decade
The Federal Government Responds:
• 1969 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
• 1970 Creation of EPA by Nixon
• 1970 Clean Air Act amended
• 1973 Endangered Species Act
• 1977 Clean Water Act
Earth DayApril 22, 1970
The Empire Strikes Back?
Industry responds to new regulations:
• Form research groups
• Develop educational materials
• Enhance public relations
Industry successfully battles NGO’s in the courts.
Shifting Strategies
Broadening issues weakens NGO’s
Rise of Radical Environmentalism
• Greenpeace 1971
• Earth First 1980
Deregulation
• Reagan Administration 1980-1988
• Goal to minimize federal regulations
• CEQ: 1 member and a small budget
• Reagan used White House councils to sidestep the EPA
Environmental DisastersThese disasters kept focus on the environment.• Love Canal 1978• Ixtoc I 1979• Three Mile Island 1979• Bhopal 1984• Chernobyl 1986• Exxon Valdez 1989
Global Awareness1990’s: elevation of environmental issues
• Scientific evidence of ozone hole, global warming, declining resources.
• 1990 Earth Day; 1992 Earth Summit
• Strong environmental policy of Clinton-Gore Administration (1992-2000)
Global Awareness
Photo taken of the Earth from the Apollo 17 mission to the moon.
21st Century
Environmental issues low priority
• Bush-Chaney Administration
• Economic downturn
• Energy issues
• Terrorism and National Security
• War
• ANWAR, Deepwater Horizon BP spill, Keystone Pipeline, Climate Change