Introduction to Environmental Systems and Societies Mr. Martin

The Environmental Movement Most older people remember the Environmental movement starting in the 60’s But… Ancient Romans wrote of pollution From the 14th to the 16th century human waste spread disease across Europe In places like China, India, and Peru soil conservation techniques have been passed down for centuries. Even though public activism is a relatively recent development, humans have been interacting and altering the environment for a LONG time

Who is involved in the environmental movement? Influential Individuals John Muir, Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, Al Gore Independent pressure groups NGOs (Non governmental organization) Corporate Businesses MNCs (multinational corporations) TNCs (transnational corporations) Governments The Law Makers Intergovernmental Agencies The United nations Who is not?...

Environmental History in the U.S. 4 Eras: Tribal era: (15,000 years ago – 1600s); native people occupied N. America before Europeans arriving Frontier era: 1600s colonists settle and the world view was that vast resources needed to be conquered/used “frontier world view” Conservation era: 1832-1940’s; starting to have the idea of saving/protecting land but not taken seriously 1960s-present the Environmental Era

US Land Acquisition 1780’s - 1853 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?

The Continental Congress 1781-1789 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). Land Ordinance Act of 1785: Used a grid system to separate land into townships etc. for sale! Land Act of 1796: $2.00 per acre but you must buy at least 5760 acres Preemption Act of 1841: Legalized “Squatters” Homestead Act of 1862: A family could purchase land rights for 160 acres for $10.00 as long as they agreed to build a house, develop the land, and live there for at least 5 years Not only are private citizens acquiring land, but also logging companies, mining companies, and ranchers

OVER EXPLOITATION Leads to a “Conservation Movement”

The Conservation Movement 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) The land should be conserved for HUMAN BENEFIT Henry David Thoreau: Writes “Walden, Life in the Woods” Gifford Pinchot: First leader of US Forest Service coined the term conservation as it applies to resources Put the forestry service in the Department of Agriculture. Why? John Muir: Founded the Sierra Club. Describes the sacred beauty of nature Teddy Roosevelt: conservationist, his presidency was considered to be the Golden Age of Conservation. “wise-use conservationist” early 1900

The Environmental Movement The dust bowl of the 1930s on the heels of the great depression caused one of the greatest migrations in history. FDR’s “New Deal” encouraged conservation and clean-up. The chemical and Nuclear Revolution came after WWII. In the 1960s and 1970s the “Environmental Movement” was born. Prompted by general public to encourage awareness to protect quality of life Key difference is that the environment should be preserved because it has value on its own, not just because it is valuable to people!

US Environmental Legislation of the 1960’s and 1970’s •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. Where are we headed now? Since then we have seen many pro and anti environmental leaders.

How do we degrade natural capital? One of the main ways we degrade natural capital is simply in our efforts to supply resources to an ever growing population! Video clip- world population

Current Numbers: World population: about 7.5 billion (7.53) U.S. population: about 327 million Population Clock