History of Environmental Science

1. History of Environmental Science

2. History of Environmental Science Three “revolutions” are significant in the development of environmental science • Agricultural Revolution • Industrial-Medical Revolution • Information-Globalization Revolution

3. History of Environmental Science:Agricultural Revolution Gradual move from nomadic lifestyle of hunter-gatherers to the farming of domesticated animals and plants Started about 10,000 years ago Led to human population growth Can you explain why???

4. History of Environmental Science:ancient civilizations • Ancient Rome – limited awareness of (or commitment to) environmental dangers and threats • Example: lead poisoning among upper class resulted from lead-based food containers • Example: unregulated deforestation and soil erosion may have contributed to the civilization’s downfall

5. History of Environmental Scienceancient civilizations • Ancient Greeks – some awareness • Example: Greeks deforested much of Greece but also solar power when wood became scarce

6. History of Environmental Scienceancient civilizations • Ancient China, India, Peru – awareness of many environmental issues • Example: used soil conservation methods to protect against erosion

7. History of Environmental Science:In U.S., Tribal era • From about 10,000 years ago to era of European exploration • hunter/gatherers, some farming • Small environmental impact due to small population size and lifestyle

8. History of Environmental Science:1200-mid1700s • Middle Ages to Renaissance – beginning of awareness of public health issues but sanitation and regulation of use of resources very limited • Example: plague devastated Europe but led to beginning of public health systems • Deforestation of much of Europe occurred during this time – led to use of coal

9. Frontier Era in the U.S. • 1607-1890 • Expansion of European influence across North America • Clearing land, increasing use of resources, land granted by government

10. History of Environmental Science:mid1700s - mid1800s Beginning of Industrial-Medical Revolution • Age of Enlightenment (approx. 1650-1800)– science progresses; thus, society’s awareness of environmental issues increased but new technologies led to pollution and other problems • Example: Ben Franklin fought against water pollution in Philadelphia • Example: Industry pollutes air and water through use of coal, other fossil fuels (London was notorious for dirty air)

11. History of Environmental Science:mid1700s - mid1800s • Thomas Malthus (1766-1834) – British scholar, published essays on economics, human population growth • Believed that human populations would eventually be kept in check by famine, disease because populations grow exponentially, but food supply does not • In contrast to popular view that human populations were moving toward perfection and a Utopian society

12. Dr. John Snow (1854) – first to recognize a pattern in an epidemic and link it to the environment – contaminated water from one pump led to spread of cholera • Germ theory developed in 1861

13. History of Environmental Science:Early Conservation Era in U.S. 1832-1960 Yellowstone established as the first US National Park (1872) Concern about the environment in the US was voiced in the mid 1800s by people such as Henry David Thoreau “Alas! how little does the memory of these human inhabitants enhance the beauty of the landscape!” Henry David Thoreau

14. History of Environmental Science1880-1920 • Progressive Era – reform in U.S. was happening in many fields, thus improving conditions for humans (slums, prisons, etc.) and the environment • Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle • Teddy Roosevelt – conservationist, as president had a huge impact in setting aside natural areas Teedy Roosevelt and John Muir, Yosemite, 1903

15. History of Environmental Science1880-1920 • However, much of the preservation system was based upon utilitarian conservation-the preserving of resources so they can provide homes and jobs for people. • John Muir was a geologist, author and founder of the Sierra Club. Muir argued that nature deserved to exist for its own sake, regardless of its usefulness to us. • His view was called altruistic preservation-emphasizing the fundamental right of other organisms to exist and to pursue their own interests.

16. 20th Century: A Century of Growth The inventions of the twentieth century had a remarkable effect on daily life. They also had a devastating effect on the environment. Human population grew tremendously.

17. History of Environmental Science:1920-1940 • Growing awareness of the effects of man-made threats to health and the environment, yet society continues to develop, use products and methods that are dangerous • Examples: • Use of poisonous lead in gasoline • Use of carcinogenic radium to make glow-in-the-dark clock faces - Women painting clocks with radium would sometimes put the brush in their mouth to fix the brush into a point. Many women developed cancer Dr. Alice Hamilton – fought against the use of leaded gasoline; fought for the “Radium Girls” who filed a lawsuit

18. History of Environmental Science:1940-1960 • Increasing scientific knowledge produces some things with negative environmental impact: nuclear weapons, DDT and other pesticides, synthetic materials such as plastics that are not biodegradable

19. Aldo Leopold – • wrote Sand County Almanac, published in 1948, shortly after his death • Wrote about the ethical responsibility humans have to take care of the earth – the “land ethic”

20. Information-Globalization Revolution • Starting in 1950 but especially from 1970 • Development of technology to gain access to more information on a global scale • Computers, internet, phones, remote-sensing satellites • Effects are personal, cultural, environmental – what does this mean?

21. History of Environmental Science:Environmental Era 1960s-present • Awakening of U.S. public to many environmental issues • Publication of Silent Spring (1962) by Rachel Carson helps propel the modern environmental movement, raised awareness of dangers of pesticides and other chemicals • Garrett Hardin (ecologist) – wrote essay “Tragedy of the Commons” in 1969

22. History of Environmental Science:Environmental Era 1960s-present Paul Ehrlich – ecologist, 1970s, I=PAT, wrote Population Bomb, which made dire predictions about the effects of overpopulation

23. History of Environmental Science:1960s-1980s Certain crises cause people to “think twice”, including • nuclear accidents (Three Mile Island 1979, Chernobyl 1986) • an extended nationwide energy shortage (1970s) • Exxon Valdez oil spill (1989) Increased regulation of air and water pollution • 1970s: The Environmental Decade – passage of Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act (Public service commerical http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4ozVMxzNAA)

24. History of Environmental Science:1960s-1980s • More environmental activism (e.g.,Greenpeace) • Earth Day (April 22) was started in 1970 • Lois Gibbs – mom who fought for community of Love Canal that was built on a toxic waste dump (1978)

25. History of Environmental Science:1990s-present • Environmentalism grows in the U.S. but many recognize the economic cost of being “green”; political factions debate issues worldwide • Global warming is supported by scientific evidence (IPCC reports, 2007 Nobel Peace Prize to IPCC and Al Gore), but is still hotly debated • Developing countries have less money to protect the environment and still face issues such as leaded gasoline

26. The Future - ??? • Green consumers • Energy efficiency (e.g., CAFE standards) • New technology (e.g., “clean coal”) • International cooperation • Growing population • Poverty • Increasing standard of living