American Environmental History

As cities grew, depended more on horses and created manure problem. in Philadelphia, an epidemic killed horses.

first city to filter its drinking water. slow introduction of main drainage and safe droning water supplies.

Waring becomes the first sanitary-engineer hero. helped save Memphis from yellow fever and cholera through innovative drainage design. transformation of sanitation

advanced germ theory of diseases and replaced commmon-held "miasma" theory.

This invention, along with steel girders, changed the way we build. Began age of skyscrapers.

facilitated development of suburbs, improved public health and safety. League of Americna Wheelmen campaigned for better roads.

most violent union in the nation; created by labor unrest from dangerous conditions of mining

withdrew 13 million acres from public domain for "forest reserves" despite states' opposition. attempt to reforest depleted areas

Founded by Muir, who was the first advocate of wilderness preservation. campaigned for Yosemite to be made a national park.

Discovered that selecting mature trees facilitated growth of younger ones. Published findings in World's Fair in chicago. he studied forestry in germany. Member of the elite, had access to president

Pinchot urged extension of the forest reserves.

Pinchot-conservationist for the sake of utility. Muir was a preservationist. Up until then they had agreed on everything.

discovery of gold aided Alaska's prospects. All access routes through Canada, along the Yukon, and from Skagway were hazardous. Jack London's Call of the Wild a testament to the gold rush.

Pinchot appointed to Forestry Divsiion of the US Government

German autocrat took over Biltmore, and founded first forestry school. used accurate mapping and photography.

Pinchot transforms Forestry Division to US Forest Service. Used bureacracy to bring all forest reserves into new Service. Fundded by Loggers' licensing fees. economy and utility.

Earthquake and subsequent fire hit San Francisco. As a result of the quake and fires, about 3,000 people died and over 80% of San Francisco was destroyed.
Didn't have enough water to put out fires, sparking hetch hetch-y damn controversy.

publicized the horrible details fo the meat business. prompted TR to support passage of Pure Food and Drug Act (his sausages). animals slaughtered within Chicago allowed for severe public health and workers' safety issues.

Pinhot and Muir sparred over policy priorities.

Need for high pressure water system. Muir argued no dams because it's on federalproperty. TR and PInchot saw the need to protect San Fran. Muir was defeated. Interior Department approved the City's request -- 86% of San Francisco voters approve the project and $600,000 to purchase the "lands, rights, and claims" of Hetchy Hetchy

18 striking miners killed and miners retaliated by shooting company property and burning company town of Forbes

Frederic Clements introduced idea of plant communities

325 murder charges against West Virginia miners

Bob Marshal explored the Brooks range by aircraft and dog sled team in the 1920s and early 1930s

Thomas Midgley Jr. invented chemicaly stable, non-flammable CFC. fed into issue of ozone layer depletion

"company towns" set up in mining areas allowed companies to control virtually every part of miners' lives; desire to harvest every piece of coal created cave-in threat. chokedamp, afterdamp, and fire damp threatened miners

designed to keep farmers on the land, restrict output, and raise prices for farm goods. paid farmers to not plant certain crops. tried to reduce farm foreclosures. favored large-scale farms.

Arthur Tansley introduces this idea. including both biological and physical and chemical components.

Lindeman introduced coneept of food web and raced energy transfers in ecosystems using economic metaphors.

doesn't require costly land-leveling. water used from aquifers. depleted over time.

foresaw famine and catastrophe due oto overpuopulation; after WWII speculation that population increases were threatening future of the world; linked to soil depletion and agricultural decline

ethical system that included land, plants, animals, and people

post WWII era showed radical expansion of cities and suburbs. Depression and war years forestalled building. mass home-ownership facilitated by GI Bill. William Levitt learned how to mass produce housing. federally subsidized road building and car ownership helped. Civil Rights movement stimulated "white flight"

bought threatened land of special beauty or significance as habitat for endangered species

and in 1969. beaches of lake erie were closed due to industrial sledge.

called for regulation of nuclear power; Atomic Energy Commission followed suit.

Eisenhower administration created highways with legislation of 1956.

in Mauna Loa, established his weather station. observed rising levels of CO2 even in period of global cooling in the 70s (Stephen Schneider). Ice core sampling enabled paleo-climatologists to trace connection between CO2 and global warm periods.

AEC and JCAE had to encourage doubtful utility companies to use nuclear power. GE and Westinghouse offered "turnkey" contracts in the early 1960s. Early concerns about thermal pollution and difficulties in construction. disposal of used fuel rods and faulty workmanship led to "whistleblowers" abandoning the field in mid 70s.

along with Hawaii. environmental objections helped prevent two major development projects: The rampart dam of the Yukon and Project Chariot (harbor created with five controlled nuclear explosions)

reliable separation of sex from procreation; John Rock perfected contraception. fueled feminist movement and the "sexual revolution" that encouraged a transformed approach to sexuality. birth rates fell sharply as a result.

drew widespread attention to environmental degradation. criticized indiscriminate use of herbicides and pesticides. targeted DDT. favored more systematic approach to eradication of malarial mosquitoes.

demonstration on behalf of the civil rights movement, against the war in Vietnam, for women's liberation and for gay liberation

Ralph Nader begins concept of consumer advocacy through his book against GM

deplored misuse of science by corporations and national defense institutions and their secrecy.

second rush to Alaska. first oil crisis (1973) made tapping of oil reserves especially attractive. shipping route for oil, the trans-Alaska pipeline. faced acute environmental criticism.

emphasized solitude and fragility of world; fueled environmentalist movement which was blend of radical and conservative impulses: anti-materialist, critical of corporate America, distrust of government, less divisive because applies to all

published by Paul Ehrlich; overpopulation alarms culminated with this book; coincided with papal encyclical letter Humanae Vitae (rejected the majority report on the subject, embracing a minority report maintaining the status quo)

written by Garret Hardin. argued that we are subject to perverse and self-destructive actions in the environment.

began on political left but migrated to the right. Students for a Democratic Society, Black Panthers, and Democratic Socialists all criticized the movement on Earth Day (thought of it as a distraction from more important issues of poverty racism and war) Goldwater (senator) feared centralization as brake on material development; Sagebrush rebels saw it as government tyranny

created by Congress and began work on 1/1/1971

first major event of environmentalist movement; organized by Gaylord Nelson and Dennis Hayes. most Americans regarded it as a harmonious and sensible event. Nixon spoke out for environmental legislation in his state of the union the same year.

Environmental Defense Fund specialized in environmental litigation and led campaign to ban DDT

wiped out an entire town in West Virginia

free chlorine atoms reacted with ozone to break it down. the period of 80s and 90s was of abstract and less visible environmental concerns.

prohibited further permitting for companies with outstanding environmental violations to strip mine. land rights, negotiated decades earlier, didn't hold companies responsible for damage done. limited effectiveness

impeded President Carters attempts to replace imported oil with domestic coal

Despite whistleblowers alarming public in mid and late 70s, didn't prevent disaster of Three Mile Island. Destroyed mystique of safe, cheap, nuclear power.

showed how different societies regarded different kinds of risks as acceptable or intolerable.

argued that acid rain was serious and dangerous. deaths of red spruce trees, fish kills, and high acidity levels in mountain lakes.

written by Richard Epstein, explored the legal and equity consequences of environmental legislation. western antagonism to environmentalists was linked to perception that they were destroying employment opportunities in forestry and mining.

simon argued the counter-instinctual position that natural resources were becoming more plentiful, not more scarce.described population as the "ultimate resource" and celebrated its growth.

specified phasing out of CFCs worldwide, which led to diminution of problem. replaced by HFCs. successful international cooperation because companies making CFCs could switch easily to making HFCs

James Hansen asserted global warming hypothesis before Congress. accurate measurement over the whole earth's surface is extremely difficult as is seasonal variation and "noise". computer programs gained sophistication.

Created one of the worst pollution crises in american history. massive clean up may have caused more harm than good

concluded that was real but minor problem. most acidified lakes were in Florida which was not downwind of any industry. importance of local factors. but Congress had instituted cap and trade program to reduce emissions in 1990 revisions to the Clean Air Act.

world's industrial nations signed the kyoto protocol; pledged a reduction in greenhouse gases. Gore became outspoken maximalist. skeptics include Fred Singer, Richard Lindzen and Bjorn Lomborg.

released 1.1 billion gallons of fly ash which damaged homes and flowed into waterways.