1. History of the Environmental Movement in the U.S. Seminar Unit #3 Prof. Christopher L. Howard

2. Environmental Policy The environmental policy of the United States is federal governmental action to regulate activities that have an environmental impact in the United States. The goal of environmental policy is to protect the environment for future generations while interfering as little as possible with the efficiency of commerce or the liberty of the people and to limit inequity in who is burdened with environmental costs. This policy grew mainly out of the environmental movement in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s during which several environmental laws were passed, regulating air and water pollution and forming the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Partially due to the high costs associated with these regulations, there has been a backlash from business and politically conservative interests, limiting increases to environmental regulatory budgets and slowing efforts to protect the environment. Since the 1970s, despite frequent legislative gridlock, there have been significant achievements in environmental regulation, including increases in air and water quality and, to a lesser degree, control of hazardous waste. Due to increasing scientific consensus on global warming and political pressure from environmental groups, modifications to the United States energy policy and limits on greenhouse gas emission have been proposed, but such efforts have made limited progress.environmental policyUnited Statesenvironmental movement in the United StatesEnvironmental Protection Agencyconservativehazardous wasteglobal warming United States energy policygreenhouse gas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_policy_of_the_United_States

3. Environmental History The history of environmental law in the United States can be traced back to early roots in common law doctrines, for example, the law of nuisance and the public trust doctrine. The first statutory environmental law was the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, which has been largely superseded by the Clean Water Act. However, most current major environmental statutes, such as the federal statutes listed above, were passed during the modern environmental movement spanning the late 1960s through the early 1980s. Prior to the passage of these statutes, most federal environmental laws were not nearly as comprehensive.common lawnuisancepublic trust doctrineRivers and Harbors Act of 1899 The precursor of the modern environmental movement in the United States was the early 20th century conservation movement, associated with President Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot. During this period, the U.S. Forest Service was formed and public concern for consumer protection began, epitomized by the publication of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. The origins of the modern environmental movement were in the publication of Rachel Carson's controversial Silent Spring, which pointed out the perils of pesticide use and rallied concern for the environment in general. Along with critiques of the misuse of technology from figures such as, Barry Commoner and Garrett Hardin, the ineffectiveness and criticism of the 1960s Clean Air and Clean Water acts gave a burgeoning momentum to the environmental movement. conservation movementTheodore RooseveltGifford PinchotU.S. Forest ServiceThe JungleUpton SinclairRachel CarsonSilent Spring Barry CommonerGarrett Hardin In addition to growing public support, structural changes such as Congressional reform and new access to the courts gave environmentalists new power to enact change. The movement that formed held three key values: ecology, health, and sustainability. These values- that we depend and are interconnected with the environment, that insults to the environment can affect our health, and that we should limit our dependence on non-renewable resources- along with a uniquely sympathetic president and Congress, led to great environmental policy change in the 1970s. ecologysustainability One lawsuit that has been widely recognized as one of the earliest environmental cases is Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference v. Federal Power Commission, decided in 1965 by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, prior to passage of the major federal environmental statutes.[1] The case helped halt the construction of a power plant on Storm King Mountain in New York State. The case has been described as giving birth to environmental litigation and helping create the legal doctrine of standing to bring environmental claims.[2] The Scenic Hudson case also is said to have helped inspire the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act, and the creation of such environmental advocacy groups as the Natural Resources Defense Council.Second Circuit Court of Appeals[1]power plantStorm King Mountainstanding[2]National Environmental Policy ActNatural Resources Defense Council http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_policy_of_the_United_States

4. Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (born David Henry Thoreau; July 12, 1817 – May 6, 1862) was an American author, poet, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, philosopher, and leading transcendentalist. He is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay, Civil Disobedience, an argument for individual resistance to civil government in moral opposition to an unjust state.Americanpoetabolitionistnaturalisttax resisterdevelopment critic surveyorhistorianphilosophertranscendentalistWaldensimple livingCivil Disobedienceresistance to civil government Thoreau's books, articles, essays, journals, and poetry total over 20 volumes. Among his lasting contributions were his writings on natural history and philosophy, where he anticipated the methods and findings of ecology and environmental history, two sources of modern day environmentalism. His literary style interweaves close natural observation, personal experience, pointed rhetoric, symbolic meanings, and historical lore; while displaying a poetic sensibility, philosophical austerity, and "Yankee" love of practical detail.[1] He was also deeply interested in the idea of survival in the face of hostile elements, historical change, and natural decay; at the same time imploring one to abandon waste and illusion in order to discover life's true essential needs.[1]writings on natural historyecologyenvironmental historyenvironmentalismliterarysymbolicausterity[1]illusion[1] He was a lifelong abolitionist, delivering lectures that attacked the Fugitive Slave Law while praising the writings of Wendell Phillips and defending abolitionist John Brown. Thoreau's philosophy of civil disobedience influenced the political thoughts and actions of such later figures as Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr.abolitionistFugitive Slave LawWendell PhillipsJohn Browncivil disobedienceLeo TolstoyMahatma GandhiMartin Luther King, Jr.

5. Anarchist Thoreau is sometimes cited as an individualist anarchist.[2] Though Civil Disobedience seems to call for improving rather than abolishing government – "I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government"[3] – the direction of this improvement aims at anarchism: "'That government is best which governs not at all;' and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have."[3] Richard Drinnon partly blames Thoreau for the ambiguity, noting that Thoreau's "sly satire, his liking for wide margins for his writing, and his fondness for paradox provided ammunition for widely divergent interpretations of 'Civil Disobedience.'" He further points out that although Thoreau writes that he only wants "at once" a better government, that does not rule out the possibility that a little later he might favor no government.[4]individualist anarchist[2][3] [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau

6. Waldon In 1851, Thoreau became increasingly fascinated with natural history and travel/expedition narratives. He read avidly on botany and often wrote observations on this topic into his journal. He admired William Bartram, and Charles Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle. He kept detailed observations on Concord's nature lore, recording everything from how the fruit ripened over time to the fluctuating depths of Walden Pond and the days certain birds migrated. The point of this task was to "anticipate" the seasons of nature, in his words.[40][41]natural historybotanyWilliam BartramCharles DarwinVoyage of the Beagle[40][41] He became a land surveyor and continued to write increasingly detailed natural history observations about the 26 square miles (67 km2) township in his journal, a two-million word document he kept for 24 years. He also kept a series of notebooks, and these observations became the source for Thoreau's late natural history writings, such as Autumnal Tints, The Succession of Trees, and Wild Apples, an essay lamenting the destruction of indigenous and wild apple species. Until the 1970s, literary critics[who?] dismissed Thoreau's late pursuits as amateur science and philosophy. With the rise of environmental history and ecocriticism, several new readings[who?] of this matter began to emerge, showing Thoreau to be both a philosopher and an analyst of ecological patterns in fields and woodlots. For instance, his late essay, "The Succession of Forest Trees," shows that he used experimentation and analysis to explain how forests regenerate after fire or human destruction, through dispersal by seed-bearing winds or animals.who?environmental historyecocriticismwho? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau

7. Thoreau and nature He traveled to Quebec once, Cape Cod four times, and Maine three times; these landscapes inspired his "excursion" books, A Yankee in Canada, Cape Cod, and The Maine Woods, in which travel itineraries frame his thoughts about geography, history and philosophy. Other travels took him southwest to Philadelphia and New York City in 1854, and west across the Great Lakes region in 1861, visiting Niagara Falls, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Mackinac Island.[42] Although provincial in his physical travels, he was extraordinarily well-read and vicariously a world traveler. He obsessively devoured all the first-hand travel accounts available in his day, at a time when the last unmapped regions of the earth were being explored. He read Magellan and Cook, the arctic explorers Franklin, Mackenzie and Parry, Darwin's account of his voyage on the Beagle, Livingstone and Burton on Africa, Lewis and Clark; and hundreds of lesser-known works by explorers and literate travelers.[43] Astonishing amounts of global reading fed his endless curiosity about the peoples, cultures, religions and natural history of the world, and left its traces as commentaries in his voluminous journals. He processed everything he read, in the local laboratory of his Concord experience. Among his famous aphorisms is his advice to "live at home like a traveler."[44]QuebecCape CodPhiladelphiaNew York CityGreat Lakes regionNiagara Falls DetroitChicagoMilwaukeeSt. PaulMackinac Island[42][43][44] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau

8. Nature continued Thoreau's careful observations and devastating conclusions have rippled into time, becoming stronger as the weaknesses Thoreau noted have become more pronounced... Events that seem to be completely unrelated to his stay at Walden Pond have been influenced by it, including the national park system, the British labor movement, the creation of India, the civil rights movement, the hippie revolution, the environmental movement, and the wilderness movement. Today, Thoreau's words are quoted with feeling by liberals, socialists, anarchists, libertarians, and conservatives alike."national park systemBritish labor movementcreation of Indiacivil rights movementhippie revolutionenvironmental movement wilderness movementliberalssocialistsanarchists libertariansconservatives — Ken Kifer [54][54] Thoreau's writings influenced many public figures. Political leaders and reformers like Mahatma Gandhi, President John F. Kennedy, civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr., Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, and Russian author Leo Tolstoy all spoke of being strongly affected by Thoreau's work, particularly Civil Disobedience. So did many artists and authors including Edward Abbey, Willa Cather, Marcel Proust, William Butler Yeats, Sinclair Lewis, Ernest Hemingway, Upton Sinclair,[55] E. B. White, Lewis Mumford, [56] Frank Lloyd Wright, Alexander Posey[57] and Gustav Stickley.[58] Thoreau also influenced naturalists like John Burroughs, John Muir, E. O. Wilson, Edwin Way Teale, Joseph Wood Krutch, B. F. Skinner, David Brower and Loren Eiseley, whom Publisher's Weekly called "the modern Thoreau."[59] English writer Henry Stephens Salt wrote a biography of Thoreau in 1890, which popularized Thoreau's ideas in Britain: George Bernard Shaw, Edward Carpenter and Robert Blatchford were among those who became Thoreau enthusiasts as a result of Salt's advocacy.[60]Mahatma Gandhi John F. KennedyMartin Luther King, Jr.William O. Douglas RussianLeo TolstoyEdward AbbeyWilla CatherMarcel ProustWilliam Butler Yeats Sinclair LewisErnest HemingwayUpton Sinclair[55]E. B. WhiteLewis Mumford[56]Frank Lloyd Wright Alexander Posey[57]Gustav Stickley[58]John BurroughsJohn Muir E. O. WilsonEdwin Way TealeJoseph Wood KrutchB. F. SkinnerDavid BrowerLoren Eiseley[59]Henry Stephens SaltGeorge Bernard ShawEdward Carpenter Robert Blatchford[60] Mahatma Gandhi first read Walden in 1906 while working as a civil rights activist in Johannesburg, South Africa. He told American reporter Webb Miller, "[Thoreau's] ideas influenced me greatly. I adopted some of them and recommended the study of Thoreau to all of my friends who were helping me in the cause of Indian Independence. Why I actually took the name of my movement from Thoreau's essay 'On the Duty of Civil Disobedience,' written about 80 years ago."[61]JohannesburgSouth AfricaWebb Miller[61] Martin Luther King, Jr. noted in his autobiography that his first encounter with the idea of non-violent resistance was reading "On Civil Disobedience" in 1944 while attending Morehouse College. He wrote in his autobiography that it wasMorehouse College http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau

9. Civil Disobediance Here, in this courageous New Englander's refusal to pay his taxes and his choice of jail rather than support a war that would spread slavery's territory into Mexico, I made my first contact with the theory of nonviolent resistance. Fascinated by the idea of refusing to cooperate with an evil system, I was so deeply moved that I reread the work several times. I became convinced that noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good. No other person has been more eloquent and passionate in getting this idea across than Henry David Thoreau. As a result of his writings and personal witness, we are the heirs of a legacy of creative protest. The teachings of Thoreau came alive in our civil rights movement; indeed, they are more alive than ever before. Whether expressed in a sit-in at lunch counters, a freedom ride into Mississippi, a peaceful protest in Albany, Georgia, a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, these are outgrowths of Thoreau's insistence that evil must be resisted and that no moral man can patiently adjust to injustice.[62][62] American psychologist B. F. Skinner wrote that he carried a copy of Thoreau's Walden with him in his youth.[63] and, in 1945, wrote Walden Two, a fictional utopia about 1,000 members of a community living together inspired by the life of Thoreau.[64] Thoreau and his fellow Transcendentalists from Concord were a major inspiration of the composer Charles Ives. The 4th movement of the Concord Sonata for piano (with a part for flute, Thoreau's instrument) is a character picture and he also set Thoreau's words.[65][63]Walden Two[64] TranscendentalistsConcordCharles IvesConcord Sonata[65] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau

10. Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation. Incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world and uses science, education and grassroots advocacy to advance its conservation mission. It is named in honor of John James Audubon, a Franco-American ornithologist and naturalist who painted, cataloged, and described the birds of North America in his famous book Birds of America published in sections between 1827 and 1838.Americanenvironmental organizationJohn James AudubonFranco-American ornithologistbirds of North AmericaBirds of America The society has nearly 500 local chapters, each of which is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization voluntarily affiliated with the National Audubon Society, which often organize birdwatching field trips and conservation-related activities. It also coordinates the Christmas Bird Count held each December in the U.S., an example of citizen science, as well as, in partnership with Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Great Backyard Bird Count each February. Together with Cornell, it created eBird, an online database for bird observation. birdwatchingChristmas Bird Countcitizen science CornelleBird The society's main offices are in New York City and Washington, D.C., and it has state offices in about 24 states. It also owns and operates a number of nature centers open to the public, located in urban settings, including New York City, Phoenix Dallas and Los Angeles, as well as at bird refuges and other natural areas. Audubon Centers provide nature discovery and conservation opportunities that help to forge life-long connections between people and nature, advancing the organization's mission to educate the public about birds and to preserve avian and other habitats.New York CityWashington, D.C. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Audubon_Society

11. Sierra Club Journalist Robert Underwood Johnson had worked with John Muir on the successful campaign to create a large Yosemite National Park surrounding the much smaller state park which had been created in 1864. This campaign succeeded in 1890. As early as 1889, Johnson had encouraged Muir to form an "association" to help protect the Sierra Nevada, and preliminary meetings were held to plan the group. Others involved in the early planning included artist William Keith, Joseph LeConte and David Starr Jordan. In May, 1892 a group of professors from the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University helped Muir and attorney Warren Olney launch the new organization modeled after the eastern Appalachian Mountain Club. The Sierra Club's charter members elected Muir president, an office he held until his death in 1914.[6] The Club's first goals included establishing Glacier and Mount Rainier national parks, convincing the California legislature to give Yosemite Valley to the US Federal government, and saving California's coastal redwoods. Muir escorted President Theodore Roosevelt through Yosemite in 1903, and two years later the California legislature ceded Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove to the Federal government. The Sierra Club won its first lobbying victory with the creation of the country's second national park, after Yellowstone in 1872.[7]Robert Underwood JohnsonYosemite National ParkWilliam KeithJoseph LeConte David Starr JordanUniversity of California at BerkeleyStanford UniversityWarren OlneyAppalachian Mountain Club[6]Glacier Mount RainierYosemite ValleyredwoodsTheodore RooseveltMariposa GroveYellowstone[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Club

12. Sierra Club Continued In the first decade of the 1900s, the Sierra Club became embroiled in the famous Hetch Hetchy Reservoir controversy that divided preservationists from "resource management" conservationists. For years the city of San Francisco had been having problems with a privately owned water company that provided poor service at high prices. Mayor James D. Phelan’s reform administration wanted to set up a municipally owned water utility and revived an earlier proposal to dam the Hetch Hetchy valley. The final straw was the water company's failure to provide adequate water to fight the fires that destroyed much of the city following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Gifford Pinchot, a progressive supporter of public utilities and head of the US Forest Service, which then had jurisdiction over the national parks, supported the creation of the Hetch Hetchy dam. Muir appealed to his friend US President Roosevelt, who would not commit himself against the dam, given its popularity with the people of San Francisco (a referendum in 1908 confirmed a seven-to-one majority in favor of the dam and municipal water). Muir and attorney William Colby began a national campaign against the dam, attracting the support of many eastern conservationists. With the 1912 election of US President Woodrow Wilson, who carried San Francisco, supporters of the dam had a friend in the White House. The bill to dam Hetch Hetchy passed Congress in 1913, and so the Sierra Club lost its first major battle. In retaliation, the Club supported creation of the National Park Service in 1916, to remove the parks from Forest Service oversight. Stephen Mather, a Club member from Chicago and an opponent of Hetch Hetchy dam, became the first National Park Service director.[8]Hetch Hetchy ReservoirSan FranciscoJames D. Phelan1906 San Francisco earthquakeGifford PinchotUS Forest Servicereferendum William ColbyWoodrow WilsonNational Park ServiceStephen Mather[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Club

13. U.S. Forestry Service In 1876, Congress created the office of Special Agent in the Department of Agriculture to assess the quality and conditions of forests in the United States. Franklin B. Hough was appointed the head of the office. In 1881, the office was expanded into the newly-formed Division of Forestry. The Forest Reserve Act of 1891 authorized withdrawing land from the public domain as "forest reserves," managed by the Department of the Interior. In 1901, the Division of Forestry was renamed the Bureau of Forestry. The Transfer Act of 1905 transferred the management of forest reserves from the General Land Office of the Interior Department to the Bureau of Forestry, henceforth known as the US Forest Service. Gifford Pinchot was the first Chief Forester of the United States Forest Service in the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt.Franklin B. HoughForest Reserve Act of 1891Department of the InteriorGeneral Land OfficeGifford Pinchotadministration of President Theodore Roosevelt Significant federal legislation affecting the Forest Service includes the Weeks Act of 1911, the Multiple Use - Sustained Yield Act of 1960, P.L. 86-517; the Wilderness Act, P.L. 88-577; the National Forest Management Act, P.L. 94-588; the National Environmental Policy Act, P.L. 91- 190; the, P.L. 95-313; and the, P.L. 95-307.Weeks Act Multiple Use - Sustained Yield Act of 1960Wilderness Act National Forest Management ActNational Environmental Policy Act In March 2008, the House Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies asked the GAO to evaluate whether the Forest Service should be moved from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of the Interior, which already includes the National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management, managing some 438,000,000 acres (1,770,000 km2) of public land.[1]House Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related AgenciesGAONational Park Service Fish and Wildlife ServiceBureau of Land Management[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Forest_Service

14. Forestry Continued As of 2009, the Forest Service has a total budget authority of $5.5 billion, of which 42% is spent fighting fires. The Forest Service employs 34,250 employees in 750 locations, including 10,050 firefighters, 737 law enforcement personnel, and 500 scientists.[citation needed]citation needed The mission of the Forest Service is "To sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations." Its motto is "Caring for the land and serving people." As the lead Federal agency in natural resource conservation, the US Forest Service provides leadership in the protection, management, and use of the Nation’s forest, rangeland, and aquatic ecosystems. The agency's ecosystem approach to management integrates ecological, economic, and social factors to maintain and enhance the quality of the environment to meet current and future needs. Through implementation of land and resource management plans, the agency ensures sustainable ecosystems by restoring and maintaining species diversity and ecological productivity that helps provide recreation, water, timber, minerals, fish, wildlife, wilderness, and aesthetic values for current and future generations of people.[2][2] The everyday work of the Forest Service balances resource extraction, resource protection, and providing recreation. The work includes managing 193,000,000 acres (780,000 km2) of national forest and grasslands, including 59,000,000 acres (240,000 km2) of ; 14,077 recreation sites; 143,346 miles (230,693 km) of trails; 374,883 miles (603,316 km) of roads; and the harvesting of 1.5 billion trees per year.[3] Further, the Forest Service fought fires on 2,996,000 acres (12,120 km2) of land.[when?][3]when? The Forest Service organization includes ranger districts, national forests, regions, research stations and research work units and the Northeastern Area Office for State and Private Forestry. Each level has responsibility for a variety of functions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Forest_Service

15. Modern Environmentalists The shift from its historical precursors to the modern environmental movement is typically marked by two events: the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 1962 and the April 22, 1970 Earth Day celebration that drew millions of participants. The modern environmental movement emerged during an era of widespread political activism and reform, and quickly achieved high levels of support from the public, activists, and even elites all of whom found environmental issues to be relatively appealing and consensual compared to the civil rights and anti- Vietnam protests. The growth of scientific evidence on environmental degradation, eloquently documented in Silent Spring, coupled with media-enhanced disasters like the Santa Barbara oil spill of 1969, generated widespread concern. Post-World War II affluence enabled larger numbers of people to spend leisure time in the outdoors, heightening their commitment to preserving areas of natural beauty. Affluence, combined with increased urbanization and education, also stimulated changes in social values, lessening concern with materialism and generating interest in the quality of life, including environmental quality (Hays 1987). At the same time, traditional conservation/ preservation organizations, such as the Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society, were aggressively battling threats to natural areas, and broadening their agendas to incorporate a variety of issues, including those espoused by the earlier generation of urban/industrial activists (e.g., pollution and public health). Legal changes enabled organizations to fight battles on several fronts, from congressional offices to courtrooms, where legal standing was becoming easier to achieve. Furthermore, new organizations, such as the Environmental Defense Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council, began to emerge, typically aided by foundation funding (Mitchell et al. 1992). While the environmental movement is composed of numerous local and regional organizations, it is the large environmental organizations, such as those previously mentioned, that form the most visible face of contemporary environmentalism in the USA. Large environmental organizations have combined memberships numbering in the millions; they solicit and control multimillion-dollar budgets; and they employ large professional staffs of lobbyists, lawyers, and scientists. A core group of these organizations form what is known as the national environmental lobby, a relatively influential, bureaucratic, and professionalized group of organizations headquartered in Washington, DC (Brulle 2000). http://pagerankstudio.com/Blog/2010/11/environmentalism-preservation-and-conservation/

16. Wrapping It Up Environmental Policy History Thoreau Audubon Society Sierra Club National Forrest Service Modern Environmentalist Movement