Environmental History: An overview

Honors EES

What major Human Cultural Changes have taken place?

Age of our solar system - 4.6 billion years

Homo sapiens sapiens have been on Earth for 60,000 years

Cultural Changes and Sustainability

The Evolution of Human Culture:

Until about 12,000 years ago we moved as needed to find food for survival.

Survived through expert knowledge of their natural surroundings

Had only three energy sources:1. the sun2. fire3. their own muscle power

Lived sustainably through low resource use per person and working with nature in small groups

Advanced hunter-gatherers had a greater impact on their environment.

Hunters and Gatherers

Began 10,000 to 12,000 years agoInvolved a gradual transition from nomadic

hunting lifestyle to a lifestyle based on a community where people domesticated wild animals and plants

Initially involved subsistence farming (growing only enough to feed your individual family)

The Agricultural Revolution

Impact on the environment included:Use of domesticated animals to have increased

energyMore reliable food source led to increase in

birth ratesLarge areas were cleared and irrigation

systems were builtPeople began accumulating material goodsFarmers could grow more than just enough for

their familiesUrbanization became practical and prevalent

The Agricultural Revolution

Impact on the environment included:The survival of plants and animals once vital to

humanity became less importantHuman population began working to tame and

manage nature rather than working with nature to survive

The Agricultural Revolution

Began 275 years ago (~1870s)Production, commerce, trade and distribution

of goods expanded rapidlyShifted dependence from renewable resources

to non-renewable resourcesNew machines were then created and large-

scale production became prevalentMore food and supplies became available so

the population began to grow rapidly

The Industrial Revolution

Dramatic increase in environmental impact.

The Industrial Revolution

Current cultural shiftNew technologies are enabling people to deal

with more information more rapidlyThe impact of this on the environment is not

yet clear

Information Revolution

PositiveWe are finding out

new information on how to respond to environmental problems more effectively.

An overload of information can cause confusion and distraction as we try to identify useful environmental information.

Information Revolution

Negative

Tribal EraNorth America was occupied by 5-10 million

tribal people for at least 10,000 years.Native Americans generally low-impact hunter-

gatherer or agricultural societies.Most Native American cultures had a deep

respect for the land and its animals and did not believe in land ownership.

Environmental History of the United States

Frontier Era (1607-about 1890)European colonists began settling North

America.Frontier environmental worldview—most of the

continent was wilderness full of dangerous savages and wild beasts to be conquered.

Significant environmental impact as land was cleared and plowed.

Conservation Era (1832-1960)Concern over resource usePreservation of public landPublic health initiativesEnvironmental restoration projects

Environmental Era (1960-2000)Science of EcologySpaceship Earth worldview1980’s: anti-environmental movement1990’s: environmental awareness

Henry David ThoreauBuilt a cabin in the woods on Walden Pond near

Concord, Mass.Lived there alone for 2 years and wrote “Life in

the Woods”, an environmental classic.

Important People

George Perkins MarshA scientist and member of congressQuestioned the idea that resources were

inexhaustibleFormulated basic resource conservation

principles we still use today.

John MuirFounded the Sierra ClubLeader of the preservationist movement,

advocating the protection of large areas of wilderness on public lands.

Theodore RooseveltConservationists whose term in office was

known as the “Golden Age of Conservation”.Designated the Grand Canyon as one of the

first 16 national parks.More than tripled the size of the national forest

reserves.

Rachel CarsonWrote the book “Silent Spring” about the

dangers of pesticides.Contributed to the ban of DDT

The threat of climate changeGrowing water shortagesContinuing population growthContinuing biodiversity lossContinuing poverty

Environmental Challenges of the 21st Century