By: Christos Lavelle, Nate DeRita, and Jagger Pazsak

The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus, and plant species as well as their habitat for the future.

Rachel Carson brought conservation to the attention of modern Americans in her book Silent Spring. Rachel Carson was disturbed with the prolific use of synthetic chemicals in the aftermath of World War 2. In Silent Spring she challenged the practices of agricultural scientists and the government, and called for a change in the way humankind viewed the natural world. These events added anxiety about the environment for Americans: -In 1954, the 23 man crew of the Japanese fishing vessel Lucky Dragon was exposed to radioactive fallout from a hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll. -In 1969, an ecologically catastrophic oil spill from an offshore well in California's Santa Barbara Channel. -Barry Commoner's protest against nuclear testing. -Pictures of Earth from space emphasized that the earth was small and fragile.

The Conservation Movement took place during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, when several events occurred which raised the public awareness of harm to the environment caused by man.

It started when people became aware of the importance of the environment that was expressed in Rachel Carsen’s novel Silent Spring. This became a political and social issue.

Earth Day created public support for the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and contributed to the passage of the Clean Air Act, the Water Quality Improvement Act, the Endangered Species Act and several other environmental laws. The first Earth Day was in Nelson, after seeing the damage done by a 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, was inspired to organize a national "teach-in" that focused on educating the public about the environment. In 1971, motivated by their vision of a green and peaceful world, a small team of activists set sail from Vancouver, Canada in an old fishing boat. These activists, the founders of Greenpeace, believed a few individuals could make a difference. Their mission was to "bear witness" to U.S. underground nuclear testing at Amchitka, a tiny island off the West Coast of Alaska, which is one of the world's most earthquake-prone regions.

The Conservation Movement was significant because it brought the importance of our environment to American’s attention. People began to recycle so that we didn’t waste our precious resources and trash our beloved planet. Significant impact of the movement: Congress passes Clean Water Act Silent Spring by Rachel Carson is published Congress passes Clean Air Act Congress passes the Wilderness Act Congress passes the Water Quality Act Richard Nixon signs the Environmental Policy Act Earth Day is celebrated for the first time