Environmental History: Learning from
the Past
Environmental History
Supplement 5
Cultural Changes and the Environment:
Hunter-Gatherer Culture
 Hunter-gatherers: 1st humans until
about 12,000 years ago
 Nomadic: seasonal movement
 Usually limited environmental impact:
lived in small groups, moved as needed
Agricultural Revolution
• 10,000-12,000 years ago
• Humans grow food, breed livestock
• Advantages: more food, more people lived,
longer life expectancy, towns formed
• Disadvantages: Resources exploited,
pollution in towns, increase
disease, conflicts among people
increase
The Industrial-Medical Revolution
Industrial Revolution (mid-1700’s)
Shift to dependence on non-renewable
resources
Dramatic increase in environmental
impact
Food grown in large quantities
The Information/Globalization
Revolution
50 years ago
Information
Revolution
Rate of information increase and
speed of communication
Globalizatio
n
Decrease
in cultural diversity
US Environmental History
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•
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Tribal Era—Native Americans
Frontier Era: 1607-1890
Early Conservation: 1832-1950’s
Environmental Era: 1960-today
The Tribal Era
 Native Americans
 Native Americans caused some extinctions, but
generally were low-impact hunter-gather or
agricultural societies
Frontier Era: 1607-1890
North Americ settled by Europeans
Significant impact as wilderness frontier
was “tamed”
The Early Conservation Era
Period: 1832-1960
Concern over resource use
Preservation of public lands
Public health initiatives
Environmental restoration projects
Important Figures During The Early
Conservation Era
Henry David Thoreau
George Perkins Marsh
John Muir
Theodore Roosevelt:
“Golden Age of Conservation”
1906: Antiquities Act
John Muir Movie
QuickTime™ and a
Sorenson Video 3 decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Early Conservation Era:
Important Figures (con’t.)
Gifford Pinchot
Hetch-Hetchy Debate: highlighted
difference in preservation and conservation
1916: National Park Service Act
 WWI: Harding, Coolidge, Hoover
Franklin Roosevelt: CCC, TVA
Environmental Decades
• 1960’s--Rachel Carson, Wilderness Act,
Emergence of Ecology
• 1970s—Nixon (EPA, ESA), Carter (DoE,
Superfund), Love Canal , Three Mile Island
• 1980s--Reagan, Sagebrush Rebellion, Bhopal,
Chernobyl
• 1990s--Clinton
• 2000s-- Bush