1. History of Environmentalism
Conservation
Vs.
Preservation

2. CONSERVATION
Managing and protecting natural resources and using them sustainably.
Focus on instrumental value

3. Teddy Roosevelt’s Administration- early 1900’s
Creation of the US Forest Service
Expansion of National Forest holdings
Establishment of 53 wildlife refuges

4. National Forest Service
Created 1905
Multiple, Sustainable Use Policy
To be “used for the greatest good, for the greatest number for the longest time”

5. Gifford Pinchot 1865-1946 First American-born Forester
Began his career at Biltmore Estate
Appointed First Chief of the U.S. Forest Service

6.                     
                    
                    
                    
Carl Schenck
German-born Forester hired to manage Biltmore Estate Forest Land now known as Pisgah National Forest.
Developed the First American Forestry School 1895

7. George Perkins Marsh Man and Nature published in 1864
Called attention to the destructive impact of human activity on land, especially through deforestation.
Advocated conservation

8. PRESERVATION Protecting natural environments from human development
Focus on intrinsic value
“nature deserves to exist for its own sake regardless of its usefulness to us.”

9. Ralph Waldo Emerson Wrote Nature 1836
A Unitarian Minister, he believed that nature was the manifestation of the spiritual world.
“Mystical unity of nature” basis for transcendentalism

10. Henry David Thoreau Wrote Walden Pond Utopia
Called for the establishment of “national preserves” of virgin forest

11. John Muir Believed in preservation of pristine wilderness areas
Founded the Sierra Club in 1892
“Father of National Parks”
                              

12. Frederick Law Olmstead
Father of American Landscape Architecture
Developed Central Park in 1857
Worked extensively on Biltmore Estate

13. Olmstead’s Words
Served as the foundation for legislation establishing the National Park Service: “To conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations..”

14. National Park Service Founded in 1916
To preserve for the benefit, use, and inspiration of present and future generations…

15. Creation of National Parks
1872
Yellowstone
World’s First National Park

16. 1930’s Ecology and Economy Clash
Hetch-Hetchy Valley
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
Soil Conservation Service (SCS)

17. Post WWII Strong economic and Population Growth
Dramatic increase in recreation in National Parks
16 million million million

18. Science and Awareness
Scientific research documented the effects of humans on the environment.
Major popular books:
Aldo Leopold’s Sand County Almanac 1949
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring 1962
Paul Ehrlich’s Population Bomb 1968

19. Rachel Carson
Alerted the general public in 1962 to the dangers of pesticides in her book Silent Spring.
This work led to the banning of DDT in 1972.
                              

20. Polarization
Continued urban growth and associated pollution caused divergence of:
Those who supported and profited from industrialization (‘industry’).
Those who worried about the effects of pollution (‘environmentalists’).

21. The Rise of National Green Organizations (NGO’s)
World Wildlife Federation (WWF) 1961
Environmental Defense Fund 1967

22. Catalysts
                                                            
1969 Burning of the Cuyahoga River, OH

23. Catalyst
1969 Santa Barbara Oil Spill

24. New Legislation The Federal Government Responds: 1963 Clean Air Act
1965 Water Quality Act
1966 Endangered Species Conservation Act
1968 National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

25. Issues of the 1960’ and 1970’s Human Population Growth
Nuclear Weapons Testing
Nuclear Power
Fossil Fuel Drilling
Recycling
Air Pollution
Water Pollution
Wilderness Protection
Landfilling Waste

26. 1970’s The Environmental Decade
The Federal Government Responds:
1969 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
1970 Creation of EPA by Nixon
1970 Clean Air Act amended
1973 Endangered Species Act
1977 Clean Water Act

27. Earth Day April 22, 1970
                                                 

28. The Empire Strikes Back?
Industry responds to new regulations:
Form research groups
Develop educational materials
Enhance public relations
Industry successfully battles NGO’s in the courts.

29. Shifting Strategies Broadening issues weakens NGO’s
Rise of Radical Environmentalism
Greenpeace 1971
Earth First 1980

30. Deregulation Reagan Administration 1980-1988
Goal to minimize federal regulations
CEQ: 1 member and a small budget
Reagan used White House councils to sidestep the EPA

31. Environmental Disasters
These disasters kept focus on the environment.
Love Canal 1978
Ixtoc I 1979
Three Mile Island 1979
Bhopal 1984
Chernobyl 1986
Exxon Valdez 1989

32. Global Awareness 1990’s: elevation of environmental issues
Scientific evidence of ozone hole, global warming, declining resources.
1990 Earth Day; 1992 Earth Summit
Strong environmental policy of Clinton-Gore Administration ( )

33. Global Awareness
Photo taken of the Earth from the Apollo 17 mission to the moon.

34. 21st Century Environmental issues low priority
                                                                          
Environmental issues low priority
Bush-Chaney Administration
Economic downturn
Energy issues
Terrorism and National Security
War
ANWAR, Deepwater Horizon BP spill, Keystone Pipeline, Climate Change