History of Environmental Movement in the U.S.

The first people of North America (25K years ago)

• Native American peoples

• mostly hunters/gatherers

• little mass agriculture kept population in check

• culture had great respect for nature

Exploitation Years (1620-1900)

• First colonists brought with them 3 symbolic items:

• axe

• plow

• gun

• Manifest Destiny: westward expansion, resource exploitation was God’s will.

Exploitation Years

• Myth of superabundance

• Examples:

• wildlife resources- buffalo

• forests- Wisconsin

• prairies- Cattle Barons, Sod Busters

Early Leaders in Conservation

• Henry David Thoreau- Walden Pond, called for “preservation” of environment

• George Perkins Marsh- Man and Nature, called for “conservation” of environment.

• John Wesley Powell- Grand Canyon

• Creation of Yellowstone Park (1872)

Conservation Years

1900-WWII

Early Leaders in Conservation

• John Muir- president of Sierra Club. 1st private conservation organization.

• Gifford Pinchot- 1st chief forester. Brought scientific forestry to practice.

• Teddy Roosevelt (1901-1909)- avid outdoorsman, hunter, 1st president to call for conservation of the environment.

FDR, The “New Deal”, and Conservation Initiatives

• Tennessee Valley Autority (TVA)- dams and other power services

• Soil Conservation Service

• Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)- many conservation projects, put thousands of unemployed men to work

• Eastern National Forests Created

The Environmental Era

(1950-present)

Aldo Leopold

• Park Service employee

• Professor of Forestry at UW- Madison

• Wrote “A Sand County Almanac”

• Developed an “Environmental Ethic”• “We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us.

When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”

The 1960’s

• Racism and Civil Rights

• Santa Barbara Oil Spill

• Cuyahoga River burns for 3 days

• Space flight, our 1st pictures of a finite Earth

Significant Environmental Legislation

• Wilderness Act (1964)- permanent preservation of designated wild lands

• Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (1968)

• National Environmental Policy Act (1969)- created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• The Clean Air Act (1970)- greatly expanded protection of air

Significant Environmental Legislation

• The Clean Water Act (1972)- protection of all surface water in US

• Endangered Species Act (1973)- identify and protect endangered species

• Superfund (1980)- established rules for disposal of hazardous waste, punishment for illegal dumping

Permanent Protection for the Environment

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR)

• handouts