The Environmental Movement

The Environmental/ Green Movement

Significant Leaders • Rachel Carson – author of The Silent Spring (1962) – voiced concerns over the widespread use of pesticides and the chemical DDT – led people to have the mindset that pesticides don't only kill insects, but also damage the plants and people who ingest them – said to have started and popularized the Environmental Movement

Significant Leaders • Stewart Udall – appointed Secretary of the Interior by Kennedy – most important policies involved water development and protection, expansion of national parks, – encouraged a cease to the sale of public lands – formed the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation

Movements • Sierra Club – purpose: • encourage the exploration and enjoyment of the wild places on earth • promote the responsible use of planet’s ecosystems and resources • protect the environment through education and political activism – methods include lobbying, research, organizing demonstrations, producing congressional testimony, filing lawsuits, and monitoring state and federal legislation

Movements • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – independent executive agency that controls pollution of air and water – monitors environmental damage from solid waste, pesticides, radiation, and toxic waste. – coordinates efforts in research, monitoring, the setting of standards, and enforcement of regulations – determines when activities of other agencies may threaten public health or the

Movements • Greenpeace – public interest group looking to raise awareness about saving the environment and how people are destroying it – uses nonviolent methods to attempt to expose global environmental issues – seek to end nuclear testing, begin restoration of the environment (biosphere), end toxic waste trade, encourage gun control, and research in alternative forms of energy

Movements • Friends of the Earth – international organization that attempted to take a more global view of environmentalism – encouraged conservation and proper use of the environment – used very confrontational methods, through protest, boycott, marching, and demonstrations – used such methods due to the FOE's belief that environmental change can only

Legislation • Clean Air Act (1963) – set standards for air pollution control, gave state funding to establish and continue air pollution control programs

• National Environmental Policy Act (1969) – established federal guidelines on environmental policies and also established measures to carry out those guidelines – mainly designed to outline how to protect the environment.

Legislation • Wilderness Act (1964) – main lobbyist for the bill was conservationist Howard Zahniser – established the National Wilderness Preservation System – 9.1million acres of federal land was set aside – created a 10-year review program to oversee wildlife protect on those lands and stated that all changes must be made through Congress – considered the landmark environmental legislation of the 20th century

Events • Earth Day – April 22 – a day dedicated to the environmental health of the planet – founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970 – on the first Earth Day in 1970 as many as 20 million Americans in schools and communities across the country participated in rallies and demonstrations on behalf of Earth

Reasons to remember the movement • in an environment with air pollution, harmful UV rays, contaminated water, and toxic waste, humans will just become more prone to sickness and disease • with the polar ice caps melting, global warming would increase and cause ocean sea level to rise which would lead to more natural disasters and put more human lives at risk • increased warming of the earth could put animals at risk of extinction including polar bears and seals • increased warming could cause water shortage and drought

Reasons some may protest • Some may believe there were other much more important issues such as the Vietnam War that was going on at the time • Some may not believe anything was happening with the environment and that this was all just a way for scientists to make money

Bibliography • “Environment." American History. 2009. ABC-CLIO. 28 Apr. 2009 . • "Earth Day." MSN Encarta. 29 Apr. 2009.