Environmental History: Learning from
the Past
Overview
 Human Cultural History
 U.S. Environmental History
 Aldo Leopold
Human Culture History:
Hunter-Gatherer Culture
 Hunter-gatherers
 Nomadic
 Usually limited environmental impact
Human Culture History:
The Agricultural Revolution
 Agriculture: stay put and farm
instead of gathering
 Slash and burn/ shifting cultivation
 Essentially sustainable resource use.
 Increased environmental impact.
Human Culture History:
The Industrial Revolution
 Industrial Revolution (mid-1700’s)
 Medical Revolution
 Shift to dependence on non-renewable
resources.
 Dramatic increase in environmental
impact.
Human Culture History:
The Information Revolution
 Information Revolution
 Rate of information increase and
speed of communication
 Globalization
 Decrease in cultural diversity
United States Environmental History:
The Tribal and Frontier Eras
 Tribal Era : Native Americans caused
some extinctions, but generally were
low-impact hunter-gather or
agricultural societies
 Frontier Era Environmental Worldview:
European Settlement (1607-1890)
 Significant impact as wilderness frontier was
“tamed”
United States Environmental History:
The Early Conservation Era
 Early Conservation Era: 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
Gifford Pinchot
Franklin Roosevelt
United States Environmental History:
The Environmental Era
 The Environmental Era (1960-Today)
 Began with Silent Spring
 The first Earth Day 1970
1970’s: Major environmental Laws
 1980’s: Backlash against
environmentalism
 1990’s : Environmental awareness
2000’s: Some backlash against
environmentalism
2010’s: Environmentalism ?
Important Figures of the
Environmental Era
 Rachel Carson: Silent Spring
(1962)
 Richard Nixon: EPA; ESA
 Jimmy Carter: DOE,
Superfund (CERCLA)
Important Figures During the
Environmental Era
Ronald Reagan
Bill Clinton
George W. Bush Jr.
Other Key Figures in the
Environmental Movement
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Abbey, Edward
Adams, Ansel
Audubon, John
Bennet, Hugh
Berry, Wendell
Borlang, Norman
Commoner, Barry
Ehrlich, Paul
Other Key Figures in the
Environmental Movement
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Hamilton, Alice
Hardin, Garrett
Gibbs, Lois
Nader, Ralph
Simon, Julian
Sinclair, Upton
Aldo Leopold and His Land Ethic
 A Sand County
Almanac
 Problems arise when
land viewed as a
commodity
 Preservation of the
integrity, stability, and
beauty of land is right
Aldo Leopold and His Land Ethic
 Individuals are
interdependent
 Ethics: respect for land
 Shift from conqueror to member