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| Most famous for the Echo Park Dam controversy and the Wilderness Act. Zahniser was a member of the Wilderness Society and a prominent conservationist at the time, noted for his lobbying of Congress for the allocation of wilderness areas. In 1949 Zahniser, along with David Brower of the Sierra Club, fought the Bureau of Reclamations and prominent western state politicians against the construction of a dam in the middle of Dinosaur National Monument in Los Angeles, California. Through the combination of Zahniser and Brower’s efforts, a compromise was reached that created the Colorado River Storage Project, but the dam at Echo Park was never constructed. Zahniser’s work in this area lead him to push for the creation of national legislation that preserved “wilderness”. From 1955 until his death in 1964, Zahniser campaigned for the creation of a national wilderness act, designed to preserve 9.1 million acres of federal land. Zahniser’s significance lies in 3 things: 1) The conservation movement to stop the construction of the Echo Park Dam was important in its articulation of the values of the movement-- essentially-- “If we don’t stop construction from happening at this national monument, what’s next? What’s sacred?” 2) His work towards passing the Wilderness Act eventually paid off, 4 months after he died, when LBJ signed the Wildnerness Act into law, preserving 9.1 million acres of federal “wild” land 3) Zahniser’s work with the wilderness act is significant in its implications for the idea of “wild” and “untrodden” land. He certainly advanced the idea that wilderness is something in which people are only spectators-- not a natural harmony of people and land but the idea of pristine, untouched wilderness. |
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| ABorn in 1886 in Burlington, Iowa to an upper middle class family. Leopold was what TJ calls a “second generation” conservationist, coming of age when Pinchot and Muir’s ideas were already part of the movement. In the eyes of many, he reconciles the differences between Pinchot and Muir. He romanticizes the landscape as Muir did, but also approaches it with a technocratic view--emphasizing how man’s technological advances have surpassed his understanding of ecosystems and technology’s impact on the environment. A prominent conservationist at the forefront of the movement, Leopold contributed several significant writings to the conservation movement, including “The Land Ethic” and A Sand County Almanac. Leopold, most importantly, founded the science of wildlife management. He also founded the Wilderness Society with other conservationists as an organization to counter the consumer-based automobile culture of the wilderness movement. He was opposed to the commodification of nature that arose in the 1950s, and stressed most importantly the protection and preservation of ALL aspects of an ecosystem, and not just the individual commodified parts. Quotes: “A system of conservation based solely on economic self-interest is hopelessly lopsided.” “Land ethic reflects the existence of an ecological conscience, and this in turn reflects a conviction of individual responsibility for the health of the land.”--”The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land." |
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| Love Canal. Lois Gibbs was a housewife who lived Niagra Falls, NY with her family. Her children attended school on land given to the school district by Hooker Chemical for $1. The land was formerly used as a toxic waste dump and from 1942-1952 about 21,000 tons of waste were dumped at the site. When Gibbs and her family moved to Niagra Falls, she noticed that her children were beginning to have serious health complications. After Gibbs discovered that her children’s school was built on a former waste site, she tries unsuccessfully to transfer her kids out of the school. She then petitioned her neighbors and found that health defects and cancer were commonplace in the area. Formed the Love Canal + Homeowners Committee--emphasis on middle-class, homeowners and homemakers roots. These weren’t radical people, but Gibbs’ organization lobbied the local and state government to take action, a crowd of 500 took EPA workers hostage, because they felt that they were taken hostage by their environment. State govt does tests, finds that there IS contamination. Eventually it takes the federal government and a $17million dollar payout to get the residents of Niagra Falls relocated. Importance: Gibbs is important in her local, middle-class roots. It took the radicalization of her movement, among people who for the most part had never been politically active, to gain national attention. Her future work showed a distrust of federal and state authority in solving environmental concerns--though some of her most important legacies are the federal policies of the Hazardous Waste Enforcement Task Force and the Superfund Act--both used to identify + clean up toxic and hazardous waste sites. |
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| “Not In My Backyard”. This is what Jundt calls a “conversation stopper”. In relation to the environmental movement, NIMBYism can reflect the elitist aspect of parts of the movement. For example, critics of Lois Gibbs’ opposition to Love Canal paint her and her followers as “Nimbies” because they focused on their local concerns with less regard to the whole, larger issue at stake. NIMBYism is related to environmental racism in that those most vocal and powerful opponents of having developments in their area-- be it a power plant, waste site, or a wind farm--are often those who might espouse the benefits of having such a development in their community, just not in THEIR backyard. That’s why these are often constructed near low-income areas. Recent examples would include the decades-long holdup of a wind farm by the late Ted Kennedy. The Kennedy family, often considered friends to the environment (especially RFK Jr.), opposed the development of a wind farm off Hyannisport, Mass. because it would ruin their pristine view from the family compound. Classic NIMBYism--often interchangeable with being hypocritical. |
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| Created in 1864 as the nation’s first wildland park.Yosemite was created around the same time that conceptions of wilderness were changing from being seen as something in need of being conquered to being seen as a romantic, unpeopled landscape. Yosemite and its lands were immortalized in romantic descriptions of its dramatic landscape by conservationists like John Muir, and painters like Thomas Moran. Yosemite’s importance lies in many aspects. 1) The creation of “wilderness” in Yosemite inherently disadvantaged those who originally had settled the land, the Yosemite Indians. From the original “discovery” of the valley by whites in the mid 19th century until the early 20th century, Indians still lived on the land, but by 1930 they were gradually removed by the park service, and seen as spoiling a pristine landscape, and were not conforming to white tourists’ views of what native americans should look like. 2) the Hetch- Hetchy Dam controversy in Yosemite in the early 1900s brought about the first large division in the environmental movement-- those who favored “efficient use”, like utilitarian Gifford Pinchot, and those who favored preserving the ecosystem as a whole like John Muir, a preservationist. |
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| Early explorer and settler to the Western states. At a time when the west was seen as an unconquered, hospitable land waiting to be developed, Powell recognized that most of the land was arid and needed a sustainable irrigation system. Though that the homestead act should be reconfigured and the land should be divvyed up into "natural districts" of smaller farms and large, non-irrigated ranches, forming a cooperative irrigation relationship. He argued that this could advance the yeomen ideal of having small farms. Instead, his plan was not implemented and big landowners like the railroads encouraged rampant development and settlement regardless of long-term irrigation sustainability. Legacy: Because Powell was not listened to, the problems with land-use and irrigation of development over sustainable practices continues in the West to this day. |
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in 1882, it was declared a “perfect reservoir” for San Francisco (it is about 65 mi NE of San Francisco), but there was a catch: it was inside Yosemite (which at this point was only a state park – became national park in 1890)
- this was an issue because nothing in the Park Act said anything pertaining to dams
- 1908 earthquake and fire in San Francisco highlighted the need of finding a permanent reservoir, so a preliminary plan to make Hetch Hetchy into a reservoir was approved by Pres. Roosevelt
- the plan simmered until 1913 when Pres. Wilson signs the bill into law, dam completed in 1923; Hetch Hetchy has been flooded ever since
- SIGNIFICANT: HH becomes a symbol for the environmental movement – cannot let this happen ever again, must organize better
o also shows the division between conservationists and utilitarians (Muir vs Pinchot)
- John Muir was fervently against HH, died in 1914, some consider him a martyr for HH |
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considered to be the “first environmentalist;” born in Vermont, became schoolteacher, newspaper editor, US Representative, ambassador to Turkey, then to Italy
- no such thing as “environmentalism” existed, but Marsh was very well-read; while in Italy, he read ancient Roman texts and noticed the differences between ancient Italy and modern Italy
- in 1864, published Man and Nature in which he stated that the Mediterranean basin was the site of an ancient environmental catastrophe due to deforestation and this catastrophe is what led to the fall of the Roman empire
- what happened there could happen in the US if action was not taken. Marsh had four main points:
1. Nature exists in harmony without humans; humans live outside nature and are a destructive force
2. Human action can lead to the collapse and disappearance of civilization
3. Emphasis on expert knowledge: rural people as destructive and as the perpetrators of the downfall
4. Ideal solution to Marsh: state control of forests; individual owners are too motivated by short-term gain
- Man and Nature sold 1000 copies in its first year of publication, a large amount for that time
- SIGNIFICANT because Marsh showed the intellectual contours of conservation, implied that locals were not using the land in the right way, a notion repeated by many movements since |
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Democratic Senator from WI, was also a state senator and the governor of WI; long-time environmentalist, but in the US Senate struggled to get environmental legislation passed
- Nelson is widely credited for being the creator of Earth Day – TJ suggests this is false, that the idea was already in the air
- Sept. 20, 1969: announced an ‘environmental teach-in,’ hoping it would draw public support for legislation – it did
- Nelson was able to achieve bipartisan support for the bill; formed Environmental Action, Incorporated and hired graduate student Denis Hayes to lead EAI and to coordinate the teach-ins on Earth Day
- SIGNIFICANCE: Earth Day was HUGELY important, and Nelson was an instrumental figure in raising widespread concern, and in the mainstreaming of the environmental movement |
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a radical environmental advocacy group founded in 1980; leader Dave Foreman: “No compromise in defense of Mother Nature!”
- the group embraced “deep ecology,” or the belief that all life forms have equal standing (as opposed to Pinchot conservation)
- Earth First took direct action, believing that other environmental groups were not radical enough → broke away from lobbying Washington as a way to affect change
o ex. removed survey markers, occupied developing and logging sites, held “tree sits” to prevent lumbering
- the group split into different wings in 1990, with the founding members becoming unhappy with the anarchic actions being taken
o the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) took part in bombing, tree spiking, and more violent activities – TOO extreme |
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an environmental ‘movement’ mainly located in the Western US; leader Ron Arnold, in Bellevue, WA; takes its name from Pinchot, used to be labelled “anti-environmentalist”
- plays on the fact that there are no exact definitions for “environment” and “conservation”
- although they take their name from Pinchot, they disagree with him: they do NOT like government intervention due to their deep distrust of big government
o believe that government intervention is unconstitutional, violating their freedom to do as they please with their privately-owned property
- have two major tenets:
o 1. Takings: government regulations are diminishing the value of the land, thus the government is “taking” from the people – it must compensate landowners for the loss in property value
o 2. County supremacy: non-elected officials (ex. EPA) are making decisions for locals, which is unconstitutional. The county, they believe, is the “natural unit of democracy,” thus county authority supersedes federal authority
- wise use is often criticized as a corporate conspiracy, or as a bunch of crazy people; however, their claims are legitimate in many ways
o reflects the fact that environmentalism has always been a movement of elites deciding that rural people do not know how to use their land properly (since Marsh)
o TJ: Wise use is “working class resentment of the environmental movement” |
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designed by Swedish yoga instructor Anne Kalso in the 1970s
- new shoe with heel lower than toe, came from idea of footprint in the sand making a “natural shoe” – in actuality, this was uncomfortable and not good for the wearer’s feet
- shoe store near Union Square carried the shoes, advertised them as “Earth Shoes” thus Earth Day protestors who walked by wanted to buy the shoes
- symbolic of a larger change, the move to define oneself through consumption, a major result of Earth Day
o consumerist aspects of Earth Day – people affecting change through their purchasing habits, turning towards “green” products or “earth-friendly” products |
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The EPA stands for the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA came into being in December of 1970 by Nixon’s executive order (it didn’t have to go through congress to pass). The EPA was charged with overseeing enforcement of federal environmental policies. Though Nixon established the EPA he slashed its budget before resigning. Later, under Reagan, Ann Gorsuch became head of the EPA. The EPA faced a steady assault under Reagan’s administration mostly at the hands of Gorsuch. In 1981, the EPA had a 1.35 billion dollar budget but by 1992, this had been slashed to 515 million dollars. In addition to this, EPA personnel were cut by 22% and there was a 40% turnover rate of staff. The Superfund (which is a 1980 fund administered by the EPA and puts aside money to clean up toxic waste sites) was only used for 3 cases in 2 years even though 18,000 sites needed Superfund clean up. The effectiveness of the EPA, due to all the above factors, steadily declined. Three years into the Reagan presidency, about 20 senior EPA officials were removed from office after being investigated for conflicts of interest. Even Ann Gorsuch herself was found to be in contempt of congress for holding back documents and eventually resigned over the controversy.
The EPA is an example of Nixon ‘riding the wave of environmentalism’. However, the EPA’s effectiveness was severely compromised by the many limitations placed on it by Reagan. It is widely known that at the end of the Reagan administration, the EPA was in a complete shambles from lack of funding. The EPA didn’t really interfere with corporations and the environment, as it should have. The EPA demonstrates that environmental policies and laws are only as good as the people who enforce them. |
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| Rodale wrote Pay Dirt: Farming and Gardening with Composts in 1945. Afterwards he started a journal called Organic Gardening and Farming. Pay Dirt sold over 50 million copies and Organic Gardening & Farming had many thousands of members. Rodale contested that next to the atomic bomb, nothing is more serious than the treatment of land by man. This kind of thinking came at the right time, as many people were seriously concerned about the state of the planet due to the atomic bomb threat. Rodale was not a scientist but he started a farm and was a bit of a romantic and a pastoralist. He was not interested in synthetic chemicals. He contended that, “[Organics] has been a long-established practice - much more firmly grounded than the current chemical flair. Present agricultural practices are leading us downhill." Rodale popularized the ideas of Englishman and soil scientist Sir Albert Howard who tried to find better farming methods to keep people in India from starving. Rodale questioned large-scale farms and fertilization with NPK (nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium). He argued that it was impossible to get natural food if you constantly added chemicals. Rodale also voiced early warnings about DDT and alerted people that it had been found to kill animals. He also criticized chickens being placed in battery farms to produce eggs. Rodale really foresaw the organic movement and was aware that people would be willing to pay more for food if it was grown without chemicals and industrial agriculture. He kind of kickstarted the organic movement. |
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| The Ogallala aquifer nourishes 11 million acres of agriculture in the Great Plains from underground. It is one of the world’s largest aquifers. It is a groundwater storage reservoir and though it is a renewable source, it refills extremely slowly. Throughout the 1960’s, thousands of farmers petitioned for irrigation permits. Because farmers were allowed to tap into the aquifer, dry wheat farming was replaced by irrigated sorghum used for cattle feed. Approximately 600 million gallons of water are used every year to raise and slaughter cattle (this includes irrigating the grain, watering the stock and processing the cattle). All of this water must come from Ogallala aquifer. Half of groundwater is gone and if current consumption trends persist, then the Ogallala will be empty in as little as a few decades. Poppers suggest that Ogallala aquifer can be saved if farmers are encouraged/subsidized to plant native grasses and then paid to leave to let the Great Plains be. |
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| The Colorado River is located in the Southwestern United States. The Colorado River carved the Grand Canyon. By 1964, 19 major dams were put up along the Colorado and today no actual water reaches the Gulf of California (the Hoover dam is one of these dams). The water is increasingly saline due to evaporation (and now it is near unusable when it is near the end of its course). There is a very large desalination plant that makes any water that flows in to Mexico usable. In 1922, states along the Colorado signed the Colorado River pact. Each state got a share of the Colorado River water. However, the agreement was signed at a time when the flow of river was at high levels, which has since turned in to a big problem considering that there is very little water in the Colorado now. From 1920s to the 1940s, Arizona had large disputes with other Colorado River Pact states trying to get more water as they are utterly dependent on it. The use of the water flowing from the Colorado has also contributed to urban/rural tensions because 82% of Colorado water goes to agriculture. This tension has only risen considering the expansion of the sub belt post WWII (in Las Vegas, Phoenix etc.). The Glen Canyon dam is the largest dam on the Colorado and creates Lake Powell. In 2007, the National Research Council revealed that the Colorado River basin is 20% lower than was previously thought and that global warming will accelerate this problem. |
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| Glen Canyon is the largest dam on the Colorado River. It creates Lake Powell. The Sierra Club and many other environmental organizations were opposed to the construction of Glen Canyon Dam. Many environmentalists, including Brower who was the head of the Sierra Club, opposed the construction of a dam at Dinosaur National Monument, which is located on the Colorado river. In order to save Dinosaur, the conservationists agreed that Glen Canyon could be dammed instead. Later, Brower considered Glen Canyon dam to be the biggest mistake of his life. Later, when the Bureau of Reclamation proposed to build two new dams and flood the Grand Canyon, the Sierra Club was firmer in its stance and prevented these dams from being placed on the Colorado. Edward Abbey, author of the ‘Monkey Wrench Gang’ has his protagonist view the dam as an eyesore. Abbey himself though of Glen Canyon as the “heart” of the Colorado River and was appalled at the construction of the dam. Earth First activists protested the dam in 1981 by unfurling a large piece of black plastic that made it seem as though the concrete of the dam had cracked. Glen Canyon has had a profound effect on the Colorado river as now there are no more annual floods and there have been temperature changes. |
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Head of the Department of the Interior under Reagan, beginning 1980. Fan of strong property rights, became famous for selling off federal lands. He was a lawyer from Wyoming and represented business interests—former head of the Mountain States Legal Foundation. In 1981, Watt met w environment groups and announced there would be no more meetings. He shared Reagan's belief for privatization. Refused to spend money to buy additional lands for the parks system. Wanted to use money to build hotels, and give hotels and shops larger role in park policy. Watt also wanted to sell 37 mil aces to raise money to pay off fed debt. He stated, “I want to change 700 regulations...no successor will ever turn them back.” He also wanted to open 1 mil acres on Continental shelf for drilling, and allow strip mining in AK , many efforts got tied up in court.
Watt resigned under scandal. Before he left, he changed the seal of the dept of interior so buffalo faced right instead of left. Born-again Christian, impacted his approach to his job, believed armageddon coming soon, no need to preserve resources for the long term. Upturn in people in environmental orgs during the 1980's-- all people who opposed Watt and his policies. |
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| Rose to prominence with the rise of suburbs in the late 40's and early 50's. Suburbs as the escape from the city—a female centred world in which family was central. Laws used to be an upper class tradition, but with suburbs, Kentucky bluegrass was everywhere. Most common plant in the US. Originated in England, made for grazing sheep ( and other animals). Needed heavy application of water and nitrogen to be sustainable—a monoculture plant. It also needed DDT in the early 50's/ Today the average acre of lawn needs more chemicals than the average acre of farmland. |
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| Home Owner's Loan Corporation, founded in 1933 to help the housing industry during the Great Depression ( from 1928-1933, housing construction fell 95%, foreclosures as high as 1,000 a day in 1933). Purpose of HOLC: 1. Expended mortgages to 20 plus years, 2. Allowed for people to only put 10% down, making houses more affordable to all, 3. instituted a systematic appraisal program, with redlining to profile against certain neighbourhoods (institutionalizing racist housing in the US). HOLC sets the stage for the rise of suburbia, and introduces the federal government for the first time, into what was a private institution. HOLC also ensures that most mortgages are established by federal lenders. |
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| 1930's, during the Great Depression, the loss of agriculture on the Great Plains, drought, caused great migrations of residents. Some of the worst dust storms in history, causing the soil to blow away (Dorothea Lange images).Roots of the dust bowl less in the drought than in the treatment of the land as a form of capital. “Okies” came in great number into California, expanded the farming population. |
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-born in 1838 in Scotland, moved to Wisco at 11
-founded the preservationist strand of conservationism, and is often labeled as the founder of the environmental movement
-opposed Pichot’s “efficient use” ideal, believing instead that wilderness should be preserved b/c it enriches human life. He saw wilderness as “sacred refuges” (he took a spiritual, romantic approach)
-founded the sierra club in 1892 in Sierra Nevada in CA (*be sure to include CA! I got marks off for failing to say that central park was in NYC on the midterm!)
-in early 20th c., Muir lost to Pinchot in the Hetch Hetchy valley debate |
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-After the atomic bomb, there was a lot of anxiety about radiation affecting everyone and from great distances
-Strontium 90 was a radioactive isotope. The body recognizes it as calcium, it replaces calcium in the bones so it stays with you forever. Ppl worried it could lead to bone cancer and other maladies, from things like kids drinking contaminated milk, and breathing fallout in the air
-it’s related because one of the reasons for the new environmental skepticism was nuclear fallout consequences.
-it reflected a distrust in the govt’s authorities that they’re not telling all they know
- It is historically significant because humankind was beginning to realize that technology was not really saviour and if used incorrectly can cause a lot of harm to humans and consequently began shaping the environmental consciousness of humans. It was becoming apparent that human actions could potentially lead to the end of the world if left unchecked. |
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- born in penn, father was poor farmer, she has passion for nature writing and science research. Became a marine biologist, gained mass-audience appeal in the 1950s and 60s
-key work was Silent Spring (1962), it was written in response to the popularity of pesticides used for agriculture/commercial uses, and the dangerous health impacts and harm the pesticides have on farmworkers
-purposely made use of the cold-war/nuclear imagery to hook audience
-specifically, she shows that the “war” becomes the war humans are waging on nature
-there was a backlash to her book, she was accused of being hysterical, lacking phd, and reporting flawed science (one of her main points was that DDT causes cancer, but this was not totally proven)
-she is very celebrated in environmentalism, and remembered for linked urban/industrial issues with fears about the degradation of the natural environment
-She is significant because her book sparked a controversy, impacted the environmental movement, and we can credit her with brining issues of human’s role as nature’s protector to the fore. However, her book did not stop the spread of pesticide use. |
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| Yellowstone national park |
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-Created by congress in 1872, it was the first national park, making the U.S. the first to take such an action.
-It’s the prime example of Roosevelt’s making conservation into a political priority.
-the country was emerging from the civil war, its status as unified nation was fragile, congressman were searching the landscape for awe-inspiring physical features for citizens to rally around
-it’s located where Wyoming, Idaho, Montana come together.
-it contains geysers, mud pots, other geothermal wonders
-it was meant to represent nature in its most pristine and untouched state, a beautiful but harsh wilderness environment, but this is inaccurate because Native Americans had in fact been settled there and kicked out
-seems like they were preserving a wilderness but they were actually inventing one, and it is significant in that it raises questions about what true wilderness really is
-Muir saw it as a place for “returning to pristine nature” |
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-Pinchot created the forest serive as its own entity within the USDA in 1905
-The western congressman did not like the huge forest reserves that Pinchot had created,, because of the negative effects they had on the western mountain economy
-in 1907, a law was passed giving congress absolute power to create new forests
-Roosevelt and Pinchot set aside 16 million additional acres as forest land, called the “midnight forests”
-The creation of the Midnight Forests reflects Pinchot and Roosevelt’s paternalistic approach |
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- In the 1940s, a practice of growing one single crop over a wide area. Widely practiced in modern industrial agriculture, allowing the maximum harvest for minimum labor
-it’s one of the technologies within industrial agriculture (chemical agriculture)
-came from the discovery that the composition of the soil that could be reproduced over and over again, meaning cheap and abundant synthetic chemicals can be used as fertilizers
-Industrialization in farming was reduced to a chemical formula and the Government subsidized these methods to support the industry
-significant because it highlights the transitions Americans made from Jefferson’s Yeoman farmer as a manifestation of what it is to be an American
-With the rise of monoculture, farming is now simply the heavy use of pesticides, leading to the problem of fake crops=fake animals=fake humans |
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| Southern Pacific Railroad |
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| After unsuccessful corporate efforts to make the state of CA a viable place for agriculture, the govt gives S. Pacific lands equalling 1/10 of the state of CA to finance railroad development. Southern Pacific starts the Southern Pacific Colonization Association, and "sunset" magazine to help those growing fruit, and to entice people to immigrate to the the state |
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-William Smythe wrote the book "The Conquest of Arid America"
-New bible for people who supoprted settling
-Purposefully suing conquest, writes it at time of conquest of Phillipines and Cuba
-Thought that the future of America lied in the West and not in the Carribean
-uses biblical imagery, making the desert "bloom"
-concepts of racial destiny |
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First Chief of the US Forest Service.
-LIved from 1905-1910
-he was known for reforming the management/development of forests in the United States and for advocating the conservation of the nation's reserves by planned use reknewal
-resource management =key belief
-didn't wan tto stop land from being used, but wanted to stop the explotation of it by the gov.
-Brought attention to conservation movements, helps federal gov. to shift roles to assuming control of large section of land and managing it in the "interest of the American people. |
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William Levitt and his son are the creators of Levittowns, which in 1949 became the biggest housing project to ever exist within the US.
-His son learned quick house building techniques from the US Navy participiating in the CB (Construction Battalion). He passed these to his father.
-They used an assembly line approach to building houses
-He didn't spend a lot of money on worker salaries, used non-union workers.
-put up 36 houses a day, the average for other companies was 5 a year
-limited choices, could have red or white paint, etc.
-All the houses are the same
-houses on market for $6,900.
-Prior to the construction, bulldozers come in and raze the land.
-Wanted to create the impression of a "garden community"-> curved streets, no playgrounds, etc.
-He is considered the father of modern suburbia
-Concept that land should be completely cleared to make room for the suburbs |
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Developed the first successful steel plow that farmers were able to use on dry land.
-Helped develop farming techniques on the lands of the Great Plains region.
-The introduction of the steel plow contributed to the overworking of land on the Great Plains, which led to the Dust Bowl in the 1930s
-Scientific dry land farming methods are supposed to remedy the obstacles presented by climate
-the steel plow broke down the native sod/top soil, makes the soil highly sensitive to wind erosion, kills all the grass.
-The steel plow allows us to see weaknesses in the farming system, have to find a balance so we don't overwork the land
-A representation of the human agency managed to impact nature for the worst. |
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-A major synthetic pesticide,created in 1874
-Put in wide-scale use during WWII, used for fighting off malaria for soldiers/civillians
-after WWII, DDT used as an insecticide and considered a commercial product. Not just used by military
-Many people voice negative opinions about DDT, most notably Rachel Carson in her book Silent Spring
-Silent Spring written in 1962 about harmful effects of DDT.
-1968, Congress passes insecticide Act, primary aid is to defend chemical industry instead of protecting consumers
-Killing of birds, etc from intense use of agriculture, Carson has widespread popularity
-A lot of American public opposed to DDT use, and in 1972 DDT is prohibited |
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