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)
Cultural Changes and the Environment:
Hunter-Gatherer Culture
• Nomadic and
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seasonal movement
Limited environmental
impact
Generally work with
natural processes
Varied plant/animal
diet-many species
Easter Island (Rapa Nui)
• Early example of
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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.
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
Consequences of Agricultural
revolution
• Increased production of
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food
Cutting down of forests to
provide fuel wood and
material for building
Irrigation systems
Urbanization
Increased production of
material goods
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
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
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 !!
Consequences of Globalization
• Less cultural diversity
• Overload of information
• Respond to environmental problems more
rapidly
• Rapid exchange of scientific data
• Increased environmental degradation ( “ewaste”… electronic waste)
Environmental History of the United States
 Tribal Era
 Frontier Era
 Early Conservation Era
 Environmental Era
Tribal Era in the U.S.
• 5-10 million tribal
•
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people for 10,000
years prior to 1600’s
Simple technology,
low environmental
impact
Respect for land and
animals
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
Case Study: Near extinction of
American Bison
• In 1500, 30-60 million bison in
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•
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.
The Early Conservation Era
Period: 1832-1960
Concern over resource use
Preservation of public lands
Public health initiatives
Environmental restoration projects
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.”
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
Theodore Roosevelt ( 18581919)
• 26th President of U.S.
• Established first federal
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wildlife refuge
Designated Grand Canyon
as National park
Antiquities Act
Avid explorer, naturalist,
hunter, bird watcher
“Golden Age of
Conservation”
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
The Green Movement
• Alternative energy
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sources research
“Reduce, reuse,
recycle”
Growing concern over
human population
growth
Energy efficient
products and services
Fair trade policies