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U.S. Government

Explore the transformative stages in human history and their impact on the environment. From hunting and gathering to the agricultural, industrial, and information/globalization revolutions, discover the interactions between humans and nature. Learn about key conservationists and environmentalists who shaped the discourse on resource management and sustainability.

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U.S. Government

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  1. U.S. Government 2011-6.2 Trillion

  2. Environmental History

  3. Humans(Homo sapiens) have walked the earth for ~60,000 years • Population remained constant for the majority of this time. • Human were hunters & gathers during most of this time period. Three major cultural changes: Agricultural Revolution – ~10,000-12,000 years ago Industrial Revolution – ~275 years ago Information/Globalization Revolution – ~50 years ago

  4. HUNTING & GATHERING • Used fire to convert forests into grasslands • Led to the extinction of : saber-toothed tiger; mastodon • Altered the distribution of plants Impact was minimal b/c their numbers were small AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION • Slash & burn cultivation • Practiced shifting cultivation (leaving fields fallow) = sustainable • Population density was low, could only physically use small plots

  5. Industrial Revolution • DEPENDENCE ON: • Renewable Resources = Wood • Non-renewable Resources = Fossil Fuels Information/Globalization Revolution Help: can respond to environmental problems faster can use technology to research env. problems (remote sensing) Hurt: Increase in environmental degradation & decrease cultural diversity

  6. Conservationists • 1830’s – 1870’s • Henry David Thoreau – Wrote “Life in the Woods”; writer, environmentalist • George Perkins Marsh – scientist, Vermont congress man, published “Man and Nature, focused on resource depletion • GOLDEN AGE OF CONSERVATION • John Muir – founded Sierra Club, synonymous with Yosemite Nat. Park • Theodore Roosevelt – Antiquities Act (protection of land); US forest service created; protection of Grand Canyon

  7. Old School ENVIRONMENTALISTS • Alice Hamilton = first woman appointed to a teaching position at Harvard Med. School (1920’s) Industrial Medicine; Occupational Hazards • Rachel Carson – (Silent Spring) pesticides/DDT • Paul Ehrlich (Population Bomb) Biologist • Garrett Hardin (Tragedy of Commons) Biologists • Aldo Leopold – (Sand County Almanac) Land Management Ethics

  8. Current Environmentalist • E.O. Wilson – Biologist (Harvard) focues on ecological studies • Roland & Molina (80’s) – Ozone & CFC connections • David Suzuki – (Sacred Balance) Geneticist • Wangari Maathai – Kenya Green Belt Movement (nobel prize)

  9. Extreme Environmentalists • Julia Butterfly –(Legacy of Luna) Fought Pacific Lumber Co. • Edward Abby (Desert Solitaire) Southwest/Earth First organization??

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