The Emergence of Environmentalism
In the United States, the beginnings of an environmental movement can be traced as far back as 1739. For centuries it was known as conservation, and it was not called environmentalism until the 1950s.
The conservationist principles, as well as the belief in an inherent right of nature, were to become the bedrock of modern environmentalism. In the 20th century, environmental ideas continued to grow in popularity and recognition. Organizations like The Sierra Club and Greenpeace, as well as the book "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson, contributed to the growth of the environmental movement during this time period.
The Sierra Club
The Sierra Club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president. During the 1800s, the Sierra Club worked to create national parks, such as Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks. After a focus on preserving wilderness in the 1950s and 1960s, the Sierra Club and other groups broadened their focus to include such issues as air and water pollution, population control, and the exploitation of natural resources. The Sierra Club's most publicized crusade of the 1960s was the effort to stop the Bureau of Reclamation from building two dams that would flood portions of the Grand Canyon.
Silent Spring
In 1962, American biologist Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, a book that is widely credited with helping launch the environmental movement. It cataloged the environmental impacts of the indiscriminate spraying of the pesticide DDT in the U.S. and questioned the logic of releasing large amounts of chemicals into the environment without fully understanding their effects on ecology or human health. The book argued that uncontrolled and unexamined pesticide use was harming and even killing not only animals and birds, but also humans.
In response to the publication of Silent Spring and the public concern that ensued, U.S. President John F. Kennedy directed his Science Advisory Committee to investigate Carson's claims. Their investigation vindicated Carson's work and led to an immediate strengthening of the regulation of chemical pesticides. The United States Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1970, which subsequently banned the agricultural use of DDT in the U.S. in 1972.
Spraying DDT
In 1958, the United States' National Malaria Eradication Program used DDT to kill mosquitoes. Following the publication of Silent Spring and the public outcry it created, DDT was banned by the Environmental Protection Agency in June of 1972
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization whose goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity." It focuses its campaigning on worldwide issues such as global warming, deforestation, overfishing, commercial whaling, and anti-nuclear issues. Using direct action, lobbying, and research to achieve its goals, Greenpeace has been described as the most visible environmental organization in the world. Greenpeace has also been a source of controversy; its motives and methods have received criticism and the organization's direct actions have sparked legal actions against Greenpeace activists.
In the mid-1970s, independent groups using the name Greenpeace started springing up worldwide. By 1977, there were 15 to 20 Greenpeace groups around the world, and on October 14, 1979, Greenpeace International came into existence.
Growing Movement: Earth Day, UN Actions, and Federal Legislation
A major milestone in the environmental movement was the establishment of Earth Day, which was first observed in San Francisco and other cities on March 21, 1970, the first day of Spring. It was created to give awareness to environmental issues. On March 21, 1971, United Nations Secretary-General U Thant spoke of a spaceship Earth on Earth Day, hereby referring to the ecosystem services the earth supplies to us and hence our obligation to protect it (and with it, ourselves).
The United Nation's first major conference on international environmental issues, the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (also known as the Stockholm Conference), was held on June 5–16, 1972. It marked a turning point in the development of international environmental politics.
By the mid-1970s, many felt that people were on the edge of environmental catastrophe. The Back-to-the-Land movement combined ideas of environmental ethics with anti-Vietnam War sentiments and other political issues. Around this time, more mainstream environmentalism was starting to show force with the signing of the Endangered Species Act in 1973 and the formation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in 1975. Significant amendments were also enacted to the United States Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act that set standards for auto and factory emissions.
Roosevelt and Muir: Early Environmentalism
U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt and nature preservationist John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club, on Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park.