Activity 4.1 – US Environmental History and Major Regulations.

 

From the early days when Europeans immigrated to North America to the modern policies of today, people have always tried to protect the resources we have. Throughout history you can see policies improve with the education of the environment. Environmental protection is not just one country’s issue to solve but a global issue.

When the first Europeans immigrated to North America the resources were viewed as unlimited. “This is not surprising, when one stand of trees was consumed for housing or fuel, another was nearby; when one field was eroded to the point of limited fertility, expansion further inland was relatively simple; when rivers became silted so that fisheries were impaired, one moved further upstream; and when confronted with endless herds of wild animals, it was inconceivable that one might over-consume to the point of extinction.”(Theis) In the beginning it was a Connecticut minister named Jared Elliott that was leading the change for better farming techniques. Although there is no evidence that his techniques improved farming, Jared Elliot is credited with improving the design of “drill plough.”

By 1850 the population of the United States was growing three to four percent every year and although new territory in the west was being discovered most of the population decided to stay in strips on the east coast. At this time the United States was becoming more urbanized, and the literacy rate was increasing. By the mid-19^th century, with higher education levels, the population were willing to listen to the concerns of several groups. During this time the Resource Efficiency group, the Transcendentalist Movement and Organized Industrial interests started to stand out for the protection of the environment and the resources of the growing population.

The role of the Transcendentalist movement for environmental protection was conservation of natural environments. They had revolutionary views on human rights, but they viewed nature to reach enlightenment. Their reach started to diminish by the late 19^th century but still had an influence on politicians. Around this time the industry saw no need for self-regulation. This led to severe environmental degradation.

During the 1920s focus shifted from environmental policies to global conflicts and economic uncertainty.  As the United States industry began to grow the environment started to become more polluted. The American population tolerated the pollution for so long. On one occurrence in Pennsylvania there was a Zinc Smelter. This smelter released uncontrolled emissions that caused respiratory distress so extraordinary that it was related to 50 deaths. This type of pollution was not limited to a few cities but was part of most American cities because the population believed this was part of being an industrial society. Air pollution was not the issue but also pollution of the waterways and ground. After the Cuyahoga River fire the Environmental Protection Agency was created to enforce regulations and hopefully prevent major catastrophes. Laws and regulations need to continually be reviewed because the issues that are covered at the time will not be able to foresee the problems twenty years from now.

Reference

Theis, T., & Tomkin, J. (Eds). (2018). Sustainability: A comprehensive foundation. OpenStax CNX.  THEISandTOMKIN_Sustainability-a-Comprehensive-Foundation-45.1.pdf