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1960
1970
A study conducted (1965-79) showed that there were 44 scientific articles that predicted global warming
1980
As the public’s concern for the environment grew so did international concerns with Europeans participating in Anti-Nuclear protests after the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster. International environmental politics was marked by the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment.
There were two types of protests for the environmental movement: indirect action and direct actions.
Indirect Actions: Most students and community members participated in in-direct actions such as teach-ins protests, boycotts and petition signings. They put pressure on the government and cooperation in numbers and created continuous awareness about community environmental problems.
Direct Action: These featured more passionate citizens who normally associated themselves with direct-action such as Greenpeace and Earth First! Direct Actions included entering prohibited areas and vandalising and filming footage these areas. Their actions would be spread by the media creating outrage in the public and placing immediate pressure on the government to respond.
As the environmental movement began causing a stir, cooperation’s began spending millions of dollars to protect their interests. The chemical and pesticide industry strongly opposed (and continues to oppose) Silent Spring. In particular Monsanto spent millions of dollars alone to discredit Carson’s claims. The most popular counter-argument for Carson’s book has been that without DDT millions of people each year, most under the age of 5, would die from malaria.
Apart from singling out Carson, public fear was invoked by the agricultural industry who argued America would not be able to feed itself without DDT’s. Protesters were also negatively labelled communist, students were “trouble makers with nothing better to do” and Housewives were told to “return to the kitchen.”
At the end of World War II, the United States underwent rapid economic growth. There was mass consumption of everything as goods were created and marketed to provide convenience. This lead to mass waste and environmental damage like never before.
‘Silent Spring’, by Rachel Carson, created public awareness about the environment, arguing that uncontrolled pesticides were harming and killing animals,birds and also humans. The book resulted in a widespread criticism industries, mass consumption and capitalism.
Socially many Americans had become politically active leading to a mass movement that focused on protecting the environment.
Televised coverage of environmental disasters spread information quickly to millions of Americans about the impact of humans on the environment encouraging the public to act.
Many environmentalists believed that human interference with 'nature' should be minimised urgently "for the sake of life" whereas anti-environmentalists believe there is no need for such haste and are skeptical of the cost chemicals were having on the environment
Direct Action groups distrusted the governments and cooperation’s to enforce environmental laws. They believed that indirect action would have little effect on government policy and the only way to enact change is though immediate mass public outrage rather than a steady build up.
The Earthrise photo taken by astronauts on the Apollo 8 mission showed humans how small the world was, reinforcing it was our only home and that it need to be protected.
Predictably, the chemical and pesticide industry strongly opposed (and continues to oppose) the accusations in Silent Spring. They did not support the new laws as it cut profits as the most efficient techniques becoming illegal or heavily restricted.
Grassroots community groups supported communities against the corporate industry and governments. Concerns about human health also led to demands to make the natural environment more available for use and to stop threats from industrial production.
Many cooperation’s also supported the Republicans who opposed these environmental laws. The dominance of the Republicans in the senate was blamed for the slowdown of the movement as supporters had to spend more of their time defending the previous laws that were enacted rather than keeping the momentum going
The environmental movement gained momentum through Silent Spring and raising awareness about other environmental issues. Vocal protests and teach-ins further educated the public on the dangers of chemical waste and the failure of corporations to assume responsibility.
The Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act meant minimal quality standards were set around the nation leading to a reduction in illnesses, deformities and deaths. National Parks were created and American's were encouraged to look at themselves as global citizens.
The movement made environmental health and protection a part of the American life and encouraged it's citizens to do as much as they can to protect the environment.
As a result of the environmental movement scientists and innovators continue to be inspired into creating sustainable living for today's citizens, with solar panels and organic produce rising in popularity.
Cooperation had to protect the public image and would spend millions of dollar on PR campaigns advertising how environmental their company is to sway the public to buy their products.
Protecting the environment became entrenched in American society with 75% of Americans in 1989 identifying themselves as environmentalists, when remarkably 25 years earlier the word environmentalist did not exist and ecology was a shunned branch of biological science.
Support for the movement continued to gain with environmental disaster such as the Love Canal and Cuyahoga River fire. Pressure was placed on the government to secure the health and safety of its citizens.
At the end of World War II, the United States underwent rapid economic growth. Increased incomes and a higher standard of living created mass consumerism but environmentalists asked what good is economic growth was if it resulted in the destruction of the planet.
In the 1960s many Americans became politically active and a mass movement emerge that focused on protecting the environment.
With the widespread ownership of cars and the development of freeways, the number of visits to National Parks jumped from 12 million in 1946 to 282 million by 1979.
The significance of the environmental movement is that it brought attention to the disastrous environmental impact humans were having around the world. People realised that exposing animals and plants to toxic chemicals would harm the health of humans as well. With the people joining the movement, pressure was put on companies and the governments to enact policies that reduced the environmental impact.
75% of Americans in 1989 identified themselves as environmentalists.
Considered the beginning of environmentalism, the Sierra Club was created for the conservation of animals and plants. However it was not until American became politicised that the movement took off.
Mainly students and house wives protested against the environmental impact of cooperation’s however as the public became more informed of the issue communities began to get heavily involved in pressuring the government to create change.
As new legislation took force with stricter regulation, banning of dumping chemicals and protected areas formed the public felt satisfied with the progression and the movement died down.
Advancing levels of education also helped produce a shift in social values favouring protection of natural areas. Access to natural environments became an essential aspect of the quality of life to millions of Americans.
Americans tried to cause change by boycotting company products that failed to be environmentally ethical.
Global awareness for environmentalism led to the creation of international events to increase awareness, such as Earth Day and the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment
https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/schools/law/lawreviews/journals/bcealr/28_2-3/07_TXT.htm
http://www.rivers.gov/quotations.php
http://www.lenntech.com/development-environmental-movement.htm#ixzz3HEyDCt7c
http://www.pollutionissues.com/Ec-Fi/Environmental-Movement.html#ixzz3HF0bRBbe
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/climate-weather/photos/8-moments-that-shaped-the-environmental-movement/chernobyl#ixzz3HIethulJ
http://www.sonoma.edu/users/w/wallsd/environmental-movement.shtml
https://www.boundless.com/u-s-history/textbooks/boundless-u-s-history-textbook/the-sixties-1960-1969-29/the-expansion-of-the-civil-rights-movement-220/environmental-protests-1231-9764/
http://www.lessonsite.com/ArchivePages/HistoryOfTheWorld/Lesson31/Protests60s.htm
http://www.greeniacs.com/GreeniacsArticles/Environmental-News/Environmental-Movement.html
http://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/63
http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2009/07/science-wednesday-earthrise/
http://www.academia.edu/3640656/An_Historiography_of_Environmental_History
Anti-Environmentalism/ Green Backlash, Sharon Beder
Citation: Sharon Beder, 'Anti-Environmentalism' in International Encyclopedia of Environmental Politics, edited by John Barry and E. Gene Frankland, Routledge, 2001.
Although the environmentalist movement was thought to have began in 1892 with the founding of the Sierra Club, it was only we people united together for the health of the environment and became more politically active, that they were able to tackle community issues and enact change.
With constant lobbying and protesting the movement was able to place significant pressure on the government and break force it to break ties with corporations to connect with voters. Those who failed to become environmentally ethical faced boycotts and negative PR damaging the brands image and profits.
"An unspoiled river is a very rare thing in this Nation today. Their flow and vitality have been harnessed by dams and too often they have been turned into open sewers by communities and by industries. It makes us all very fearful that all rivers will go this way unless somebody acts now to try to balance our river development." — President Lyndon Johnson's remarks on signing the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, October 2, 1968
Pre-problem stage: an unwanted environmental problem exists, but the public has not yet been notified of its existence. Experts and organizations are already discussing the problem.
Alarmed-discovery stage: the environmental problem receives media attention and is therefore noticed by the public. People start pressuring the government to solve the problem.
Stage of realizing costs of progress: the public now realizes that solving the problem will cost them money and the attention to the problem and possible solutions is increased. Actions include implementing (partial) solutions to the problem, such as new legislation.
Decline of public interest: the media will direct its attention to other topics and subsequently, public interest declines.
Post-problem phase: the solutions that have been implemented led to a certain degree of institutionalization, such as new legislation or new organizations.
Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring heavily influenced the environmental movement as it brought environmental damage into the public spotlight. Carson argued that human waste was affecting animals and plants eventually making its way up to humans through the food-chain.
The call to be a more responsible citizen and more involved in the countries policys caused members of the community to become vocal advocates for changes in government policies. Having been inspired by the feminist movement and Vietnam War protests, people began to advocate the environmental movement and encourage student protesters to join their movement.
Similarly to the civil rights movement, the environmental movement held teach-ins on the environment educating the public about the consequence of mass consumerism and the inability to hold cooperation’s responsible through current policies
Yes, Rachael Carson’s book Silent Spring is considered the beginning of the modern environmental movement. Her book created public awareness of the damage human waste was having on the environment’s health and in return human health. Her idea that pesticides specifically DDT’s not only affected bugs, but the birds that ate them and the soil the food was grown in and eventually humans. This idea was further strengthened by confirmation from the Presidents own Science Advisory Committee which vindicated her work compelling the government and the public to take action on the environment.
Johnson's calls for the need to balance profits and the environments health, believing too long that they have exploited it. The opening line "an unspoiled river is a very rare thing" shows the impact humans have had on the environment. advocating support for law protecting the water.
The cartoon portrays the government response to the chemical waste in the Cuyahoga River. A fish unable to "breathe" in it's on river highlight how toxic the river is with stink lines and discarded bottle supporting it.
President Lyndon B. Johnson (also known as LBJ) is portrayed as taking a passive stance on the topic despite the "calls for help." His concerned yet perring gaze imply that the President needs to take action on the matter as it has gone too far.
In the beginning of the movement it was all about setting standard for the quality of water and air (Clean Air Act & Clean Water Act). The idea was that no matter where in America you were the quality there would be a minimum quality level. This held cooperation accountable and ensured the health of Americans.
Later on accountability for the environment turned to the government. The public started to call for areas left alone from human interference leading to the creation of many National Parks and Reserves. Americans also began to consider themselves as global citizens caring about International Environmental issues (United Nations Conference on the Human Environment) and the impact of humans as a whole.
Over time historians have interpreted the effectiveness of the environmental movement to create change in society. Although considered to have created significant change for its time, historians have argued that the environmental movement failed to change American society's mass consumerist lifestyle that was causing the major environmental problem.
However for the first time in 20years the American public became politicised deciding to determine their nations policy rather than letting the government decide. Environmental groups lobbied the government and protests made sure that the communities voice would be heard. This challenge the status quo that those in power decide how the country would be run.
Some historians even contend that although it was the people putting the pressure on the governments to enact change it was the corporations that decide which laws would pass through congress, making it an unsuccessful challenge to political power.
When research the environmental movement there was actual minimal analysis on the environmental movement as a whole but a larger focus on the impact Silent Spring.
Carson's work was scientifically sound yet many anti-environmentalist tried to discredit her work through other means. She was labeled an amateur scientist whose work was too emotional rather than professional, attacking her gender to rebut her contribution. A minority also used religion to attempt to discredit her work.
Another problem was finding information relevant to the 1960's rather than the present.
Requires manufacturers to test their products for risk to human health or the environment before marketing them
1990
"Rachel Carson’s jeremiad on DDT,
Silent Spring,... transformed environmentalism from an elitist to a popular movement." -Alfred W. Crosby
“[The] river lighting on fire was almost biblical...
And it energized American action because people understood that that should not be happening." -Adam Werbach, Sierra Club President
Adam Werbach argues that the Cuyahoga Fire, Cleveland highlighted to Americans the extent of their environmental impact. It also raised awareness to the relaxed attitude towards chemical waste with the public viewing it as a
necessary consequence for income rather than a health/ environmental hazard.
Alfred W Crosby argue that although environmentalism did exist before Silent Spring, it was her book that conveyed scientific knowledge to the public creating the call for environmental awareness in the public.
The founding of the oldest environmental organisation in the United States is considered to be the beginning of environmentalism
Considered the beginning of the environmental movement
Designed to control air pollution on a national level
Preserved 9 million acres of wilderness in the western states.
Requires states to establish and enforce water quality standards.
The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (also known as the Stockholm Conference), is considered the beginning of public awareness for global environmental issues.
Preserves 104 million acres of wilderness in Alaska
The environmental movement has continued to influence modern day society with innovation in renewable energy such as solar panels and local and organic food increasing in popularity.