Environmental History (in brief)

Early US Environmental History  Colonial era  Nature and the English Diaspora  Frontier Era  Rapid expansion of croplands, railroads, timber & mining companies  Colonial era  Nature and the English Diaspora  Frontier Era  Rapid expansion of croplands, railroads, timber & mining companies

American Industrial Revolution  Started in the UK in the late 1700s.  Resulted in a boom of factory building on rivers across the US  Beginning of a societal reliance on fossil fuels  Started in the UK in the late 1700s.  Resulted in a boom of factory building on rivers across the US  Beginning of a societal reliance on fossil fuels

Early conservationists:  Naturalists & Philosophers (ie Emerson, Thoreau, Muir) promoted awareness of resource loss  Yellowstone National Park 1872  Forest Reserve Act of 1891  Naturalists & Philosophers (ie Emerson, Thoreau, Muir) promoted awareness of resource loss  Yellowstone National Park 1872  Forest Reserve Act of 1891

The Dustbowl:

The Age of Chemicals…inspiring the modern environmental movement  Minamata, Japan ( )  Post-WWII (pesticides and inorganic fertilizers)  Silent Spring (1962)  New York City (1963) industrial smog-related deaths  Minamata, Japan ( )  Post-WWII (pesticides and inorganic fertilizers)  Silent Spring (1962)  New York City (1963) industrial smog-related deaths

Cuyahoga River fires  So polluted that it caught on fire in 1868, 1936, 1959, 1969 and burned for several days.  Industrial plants along the river released highly flammable petroleum waste products  Today: not flammable, water quality is good enough for boating  So polluted that it caught on fire in 1868, 1936, 1959, 1969 and burned for several days.  Industrial plants along the river released highly flammable petroleum waste products  Today: not flammable, water quality is good enough for boating

Modern environmental movement  1970 was the year of the environment  National Environmental Policy Act  Environmental Impacts Statements  Model for states and other countries  EPA founded  First Earth Day  Clean Air Act  Love Canal ( )  CERCLA 1980  Three Mile Island 1979  1970 was the year of the environment  National Environmental Policy Act  Environmental Impacts Statements  Model for states and other countries  EPA founded  First Earth Day  Clean Air Act  Love Canal ( )  CERCLA 1980  Three Mile Island 1979

Disasters of the 1980s  Bhopal  Chernobyl  Exxon Valdez  The “hole” in the ozone  Montreal Protocol  Bhopal  Chernobyl  Exxon Valdez  The “hole” in the ozone  Montreal Protocol

Bhopal, India

Recent Environmental Disasters  Hurricane Katrina  Deep Water Horizon spill  Hurricane Katrina  Deep Water Horizon spill