Environmental History: An overview

What major Human Cultural Changes have taken place? Age of our solar system billion years Homo sapiens sapiens have been on Earth for 60,000 years

Until about 12,000 years ago we moved as needed to find food for survival. Survived through expert knowledge of their natural surroundings Had only three energy sources: 1. the sun 2. fire 3. their own muscle power Lived sustainably through low resource use per person and working with nature in small groups Advanced hunter-gatherers had a greater impact on their environment.

Began 10,000 to 12,000 years ago Involved a gradual transition from nomadic hunting lifestyle to a lifestyle based on a community where people domesticated wild animals and plants Initially involved subsistence farming (growing only enough to feed your individual family)

Impact on the environment included: Use of domesticated animals to have increased energy More reliable food source led to increase in birth rates Large areas were cleared and irrigation systems were built People began accumulating material goods Farmers could grow more than just enough for their families Urbanization became practical and prevalent

Impact on the environment included: The survival of plants and animals once vital to humanity became less important Human population began working to tame and manage nature rather than working with nature to survive

Began 275 years ago (~1870s) Production, commerce, trade and distribution of goods expanded rapidly Shifted dependence from renewable resources to non- renewable resources New machines were then created and large-scale production became prevalent More food and supplies became available so the population began to grow rapidly

Dramatic increase in environmental impact.

Current cultural shift New technologies are enabling people to deal with more information more rapidly The impact of this on the environment is not yet clear

Positive We are finding out new information on how to respond to environmental problems more effectively. An overload of information can cause confusion and distraction as we try to identify useful environmental information. Negative

Tribal Era North America was occupied by 5-10 million tribal people for at least 10,000 years. Native Americans generally low-impact hunter-gatherer or agricultural societies. Most Native American cultures had a deep respect for the land and its animals and did not believe in land ownership.

Frontier Era (1607-about 1890) European colonists began settling North America. Frontier environmental worldview—most of the continent was wilderness full of dangerous savages and wild beasts to be conquered. Significant environmental impact as land was cleared and plowed.

Conservation Era ( ) Concern over resource use Preservation of public land Public health initiatives Environmental restoration projects

Environmental Era ( ) Science of Ecology Spaceship Earth worldview 1980’s: anti-environmental movement 1990’s: environmental awareness

Henry David Thoreau Built a cabin in the woods on Walden Pond near Concord, Mass. Lived there alone for 2 years and wrote “Life in the Woods”, an environmental classic.

George Perkins Marsh A scientist and member of congress Questioned the idea that resources were inexhaustible Formulated basic resource conservation principles we still use today.

John Muir Founded the Sierra Club Leader of the preservationist movement, advocating the protection of large areas of wilderness on public lands.

Theodore Roosevelt Conservationists whose term in office was known as the “Golden Age of Conservation”. Designated the Grand Canyon as one of the first 16 national parks. More than tripled the size of the national forest reserves.

Rachel Carson Wrote the book “Silent Spring” about the dangers of pesticides. Contributed to the ban of DDT

The threat of climate change Growing water shortages Continuing population growth Continuing biodiversity loss Continuing poverty