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Environmental History

Environmental History. What has been the human relationship with nature?. Major Human Cultural Changes. Agricultural revolution (began 10,000 to 12,000 years ago) Industrial revolution (1800’s) Information/Globalization revolution (1950’s to present).

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Environmental History

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  1. Environmental History What has been the human relationship with nature?

  2. Major Human Cultural Changes • Agricultural revolution (began 10,000 to 12,000 years ago) • Industrial revolution (1800’s) • Information/Globalization revolution (1950’s to present)

  3. Cultural Changes and the Environment: Hunter-Gatherer Culture • Nomadic and seasonal movement • Limited environmental impact • Generally work with natural processes • Varied plant/animal diet-many species

  4. Easter Island (Rapa Nui) • Early example of unsustainable resource use by humans • Inhabited about 300-400 A.D. • Polynesian island in Pacific Ocean • Inhabitants cleared all the palm trees leading to erosion of land.

  5. Cultural Changes and the Environment: The Agricultural Revolution • Domestication/selective breeding of animals • Cultivation of wild plants • Slash and burn/shifting cultivation • Essentially sustainable resource use • Increased environmental impact

  6. Consequences of Agricultural revolution • Increased production of food • Cutting down of forests to provide fuel wood and material for building • Irrigation systems • Urbanization • Increased production of material goods

  7. Cultural Changes and the Environment: The Industrial Revolution • Began in England (mid-1700’s) • United States in the 1800’s • Represented shift from renewable resource (wood) to non renewable resource (coal) • Iron production

  8. Consequences of Industrial revolution • Migration to cities • Health issues due to coal industry • Increased per acre crop yields • Increase in human population • Factory made material goods

  9. Cultural Changes and the Environment: The Information Revolution/Globalization • New technologies • Increasingly rapid access to information on a global scale • Automated databases • I= P x A x T !!

  10. Consequences of Globalization • Less cultural diversity • Overload of information • Respond to environmental problems more rapidly • Rapid exchange of scientific data • Increased environmental degradation ( “e-waste”… electronic waste)

  11. Environmental History of the United States • Tribal Era • Frontier Era • Early Conservation Era • Environmental Era

  12. Tribal Era in the U.S. • 5-10 million tribal people for 10,000 years prior to 1600’s • Simple technology, low environmental impact • Respect for land and animals

  13. Frontier Era 1607-1890 • European settlers arrived • Lewis and Clark expedition expanded growth to the West • Viewed land as a vast continent with inexhaustable resources • Wilderness was “dangerous” with hostile natives and fierce animals…something to be “conquered” • Forests cut and cleared for agriculture

  14. Case Study: Near extinction of American Bison • In 1500, 30-60 million bison in U.S. • Between 1870-1875 at least 2.5 million bison killed per year. By 1892 only 85 left. In 1893 given refuge in Yellowstone National Park • Killed to supply railroad crews with meat; U.S. Army killed bison as campaign to subdue plains tribes; Farmers killed them to protect crops; and killed for sport from railroad train windows…leaving carcasses to rot.

  15. The Early Conservation Era • Period: 1832-1960 • Concern over resource use • Preservation of public lands • Public health initiatives • Environmental restoration projects

  16. Aldo Leopold ( 1887-1948) A Sand County Almanac • “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.”

  17. Aldo Leopold and His Land Ethic • Individuals are interdependent • Ethics: respect for land • Shift from conqueror to member • Problems arise when land viewed as a commodity • Preservation of the integrity, stability, and beauty of land is right

  18. Theodore Roosevelt ( 1858-1919) • 26th President of U.S. • Established first federal wildlife refuge • Designated Grand Canyon as National park • Antiquities Act • Avid explorer, naturalist, hunter, bird watcher • “Golden Age of Conservation”

  19. The Environmental Era • Period: 1960-2000 • The environmental movement • The sciences of ecology and environmental science emerge • 1980’s: anti-environmental movement • 1990’s: environmental awareness

  20. The Green Movement • Alternative energy sources research • “Reduce, reuse, recycle” • Growing concern over human population growth • Energy efficient products and services • Fair trade policies

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