1. Environmental History of the United States

2. U.S. Environmental History
The environmental history of the United States can be divided into 4 eras:
Tribal
Frontier
Conservation
Environmental

3. What Happened During The Tribal Era?
North America was occupied by 5-10 million tribal people for 10,000 years before settlers began arriving in the early 1600s.
These indigenous people practiced hunting and gathering, burned and cleared fields, and planted crops.
Because of their small populations and simple technologies, they had a fairly low environmental impact.

4. Tribal Era cont.
Most Native American cultures had a deep respect for the land and its animals and did not believe in land ownership.

5. What Happened During the Frontier Era (1607-1890)?
The frontier era began in the early 1600s when European colonists began settling North America.
Early colonists developed a frontier environmental worldview.
They view most of the continent as wilderness with vast resources.
Forests were cleared for timber and cropland, but also because they were hostile and full of savages and wild beasts

6. Frontier Era cont.
Settling of the continent and use of its resources was accelerated by the transfer of vast tracts of public land to private interests between 1850 and 1900.
In 1850, the U.S. government owned about 80% of the total land area of the territorial United States.
Tribal cultures accounted for 4% of the land, mostly in reservations designated by the government

7. Frontier Era cont.
The Homestead Act of 1862: settlers were given 160 acres in the Great Plains free of charge.
By 1900, more than half of the country’s public land was given away or sold cheaply to railroad, timber, and mining companies, land developers, states, schools, universities, and homesteaders.

8. A homesteader family stands near their home
in Florissant, Colorado.

9. Frontier Era cont.
The frontier environmental view prevailed until the government declared the frontier closed in 1890.
Does the frontier environmental view remain a part of American culture today?

10. By 1890, settlements had spread throughout the Great Plains
and Far West, though large areas were thinly populated.
That year, the government reported that no frontiers were left.

11. The Early Conservation Era (1832-1960)
Who were some early conservationists ( )?
During this time, some people became alarmed at the scope of resource depletion and degradation in the United States
Two early conservationists Henry David Thoreau and George Perkins Marsh.

12. Henry David Thoreau
Thoreau became alarmed at the loss of numerous wildlife species in Massachusetts.
To gain a better understanding of nature, he built a cabin on Walden Pond and lived there for 2 years by himself.
While there, he wrote Life in the Woods, and environmental classic.

13. Henry David Thoreau

14. George Perkins Marsh
A scientist and member of congress from Vermont, published Man and Nature, which helped legislators and citizens see the need for resource conservation.

15. What Happened Between 1870-1930?
The Forest Preserve Act of 1891: established the responsibility of the federal government for protecting public lands from resource exploitation.

16.
In 1892, nature preservationist and activist John Muir founded the Sierra Club.
Muir advocated for the protection of large areas wilderness on public lands from human exploitation, except for low-impact recreational activities such as camping and hiking.
Muir also lobbied for a national park system on public land, an idea that became law in 1916 (2 years after his death).

18. Adirondack Park
The legislature adopted legislation establishing the Forest Preserve (FP) stating that the land “shall be forever kept as wild forest lands.”
This was the start of protecting the Adirondack wilderness.

20. Theodore Roosevelt
Roosevelt’s presidency ( ) became known as the Golden Age of Conservation.
Major contributions:
Designating public land as wildlife refuges
Established 1st federal wildlife refuge on Pelican Island n Florida
Designated Grand Canyon as one of the 1st national parks
Tripled the size of national forest preserves

21. Men and Nature must work hand in hand
Men and Nature must work hand in hand. The throwing out of balance of the resources of Nature throws out of balance also the lives of men. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir
on Glacier Point,
Yosemite Valley, California

22. Important Congressional Acts of the Early 1900s
1905- Congress created U.S. Forest Service
Led Gifford Pinchot
Pinchot pioneered scientific management of forest resources on public lands
Sustainable yield- cutting trees no faster than they can regenerate
Multiple use- using lands for a variety of purposes, including resource extraction, recreation, and wildlife protection

23. Important Congressional Acts of the Early 1900s
1906- Congress passed Antiquities Act which allowed a president to protect areas of scientific or historical interest
1916- Congress passed the National Park Service Act
Declared parks were to be maintained in to leave them unimpaired for future generations
Established the National Park Service

24. Different Views on Environmentalism
Wise-use or Conservationist (Roosevelt and Pinchot)- Believed all public lands should be managed wisely and scientifically to provide needed resources.
Preservationists (Muir)- wanted wilderness areas on public lands to be left untouched.

25. What Happened Between 1930 and 1960?
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)- planted trees, developed and maintained parks and recreation areas, flood control, protect wildlife
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)- replant forests
Soil Conservation Act of established to fix erosion problems from the dust bowl

27. The Environmental Era (1960-2002)
1962- Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring, which documented pollution of air, water, and wildlife from pesticides such as DDT.
Carson’s book was viewed as the beginning of the modern environmental movement
Many citizens demanded that politicians enact laws:
1.) curtailed pollution,
2.) cleaned up polluted environments
3.) protect wilderness from environmental degradation

28. Wilderness Act
In 1964, Congress passed the Wilderness Act that authorized the government to protect undeveloped tracts of public land as part of the National Wilderness System.

29. What Happened in the 1970s?
First annual Earth Day was held April 20, 1970.
President Nixon established the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970.
Nixon also supported passage of the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

30. President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)
Helped create a Superfund as part of the Comprehensive Environment Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to clean up abandoned hazardous waste sites, including the Love Canal near Niagara Falls, NY.
Used Antiquities Act of 1906 to triple the amount of land in the National Wilderness System and double the area in the National Park System.

31. What Did Ronald Reagan Do?
Appointed individuals who opposed most existing environmental and public land use laws and policies.
Increased private energy and mineral development and timber cutting on public lands.
Cut federal funding for research on energy conservation and renewable energy resources and eliminated tax incentives for solar energy use.
Lowered automobile gas mileage standards and relaxed federal air and water quality pollution standards.

32. "A tree's a tree. How many more do you need to look at. "
"A tree's a tree.  How many more do you need to look at?" --Ronald Reagan

33. George Bush (1989) Promised to be “the environmental president”
However, he supported the exploitation of valuable resources on public lands
Allowed some environmental laws to be undercut by the powerful influence of industry, mining, ranching, and real estate development officials

34. What Happened From 1990 to 2002?
In 1993, Bill Clinton became president
Consulted with environmentalists about environmental policy
Vetoed most anti-environmental bills
Announced regulations requiring SUVs to meet same air pollution standards as cars
Made forest health the primary priority in managing national forests
Declared many roadless areas in national forests off limits to roads and logging

35. President George W. Bush (2001-)
Did not consult with environmental groups and leaders in developing his policies
Increased private energy and mineral development and timber cutting on public lands
Cut EPA funding
Opposed U.S. participation in the international Kyoto treaty to reduce carbon dioxide emissions that promote global warming

37. 5 Most Important Environmental Issues of the 21st Century
Threat to climate change from global warming
Growing water shortages
Continuing population growth
Continuing biodiversity loss
Continuing poverty