Lecture 3 the Modern Environmental Movement Lecture 3
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Lecture 3 The Modern Environmental Movement Lecture 3: Outline I. Species of the day II. Beginnings of the Conservation Movement III.The Green Decade IV. The Endangered Species Act (1973) V. The 1980’s and the Post 9/11 World VI. The Rise of New Conservation Strategies (Ecosystem Management) VII.The Conservation Movement Today (Our Next President?) 1 Species of the Day Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis) Threats: Conservation Status: • Habitat loss Endangered, USFWS, 1998 • Habitat fragmentation • Increased predation • Exposure to disease • Increased competition for resources Beginnings of the Conservation Movement Ecosystem Management Preservationist Ethic Muir Resource Conservation Ethic - Pinchot 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2004 Anthropocentrism Romantic-Transcendentalism Thoreau 1985 Emerson Society of Evolutionary- Conservation ecological land ethic Biology Leopold Forest Reserve Act (1891) 2 Beginnings of the Conservation Movement Late 19th Century • Industrial Revolution • Loss of the Western Frontier • Over consumption of natural resources • Rise of the Romantic Transcendental Conservation Ethic Beginnings of the Conservation Movement Romantic Transcendentalism (early to mid-1800’s) Viewed the natura l world as a source not simp ly of material goods, but also of aesthetic satisfaction, philosophical insight, and spiritual solace. Ralph Waldo Emerson Henry David Thoreau “A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is Earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.” ~ Thoreau 3 Beginnings of the Conservation Movement Ecosystem Management Preservationist Ethic Muir Resource Conservation Ethic - Pinchot 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2004 Anthropocentrism Romantic-Transcendentalism Thoreau 1985 Emerson Society of Evolutionary- Conservation ecological land ethic Biology Leopold Forest Reserve Act (1891) Beginnings of the Conservation Movement Preservationist Ethic • Intrinsic value of nature and typified in the romantic- tdtltranscendental movement. • Focused on the usefulness of resources as well. • Embodied the idea of preservation. • Established the Sierra Club. John Muir (1838-1914) "Why should man value himself as more than a small part of the one great unit of creation? And what creature of all that the Lord has taken the pains to make is not essential to the completeness of that unit - the cosmos? The universe would be incomplete without man; but it would also be incomplete without the smallest transmicroscopic creature that dwells beyond our conceitful eyes and knowledge." A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf 4 Beginning of the Conservation Movement Ecosystem Management Preservationist Ethic Muir Resource Conservation Ethic - Pinchot 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2004 Anthropocentrism Romantic-Transcendentalism Thoreau 1985 Emerson Society of Evolutionary- Conservation ecological land ethic Biology Leopold Forest Reserve Act (1891) Beginning of the Conservation Movement Resource Conservation •First Ameri can scescien ti st tatrain ed in foestorest man agem en t. • Emphasized utilitarian approach to management. • Embodied the “resource conservation ethic” • Was the first Chief of the U.S. Forest Service Some terminology: • Sustained yield •Conservation Gifford Pinchot (1865-1946) Pinchot quotes: “The forest rightly handled – given the chance – is, next to the earth itself, the most useful servant of man.” “There are just two things on this material earth – people and natural resources” “The great fact of conservation is that it stands for development.” 5 Beginning of the Conservation Movement Evolutionary/Ecological Land Ethic: • Emphasized combining conservation and preservation. • Must have a basic appreciation of the biotic community as a whole • Protect at least samples of each different kind of community • Use resources conservatively with high regard for Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) native diversity and ecological functions • Revise management based on new scientific knowledge • Actively restore wherever feasible • Identify and work to change the social and economic forces that constrain the above actions The Green Decade (1970-1980) • 1960’s – Social unrest, end of this period results in a well defined environmental movement • Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (1962) • Period of alternative thought (art, music, science, etc.) • Environmental movement becomes a political and public issue • Numerous environmental groups are formed 6 The Green Decade (1970-1980) The Endangered Species Act (1973) “ Provide a means byyy whereby the ecosy stems upon which endangered species and threatened species depend may conserved and to provide a program for the conservation of such endangered and threatened species.” Endangered Species: Any species threatened with extinction throughout a significant portion of its range Threatened Species: Any species likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range. The 1980’s and the Post 9/11 World • From Carter to Reagan • Reagan deregulation and the environment • Bush as the environmental President • Ozone layer • Global warming • Employment vs. the environment 7 The 1980’s and the Post 9/11 World From Clinton: • Increased funding for scientific research • Developed new initiatives to improve energy efficiency • Increased enforcement of environmental laws • Preserved millions of acres in national parks and wilderness areas • Instigated long term protection of wilderness in roadless areas. To Bush (again) • Decreased federal govt. involvement in favor of local or state govt. • Increased funding for nuclear power • Won’t ratify the Kyoto Protocol, has his own plan • Healthy Forests Initiative • Created wetland restoration programs • Wants to simplify the ESA and reduce complexity of environmental legislation • Believes in oversight of scientists that influence policy New Conservation Approaches Ecosystem Management: • Land managgppement approach that considers the biological needs of a large area of land. • It is management for the health of the whole ecosystem by providing for the preservation and restoration of plants, animals, soil, and water while also providing for things important to people, such as food and recreation. • Ecosystem management is the skillful, integrated use of ecological knowledge at various scales to produce desired resource values, products, and services in ways that also sustain the diversity and productivity of ecosystems. 8 New Conservation Approaches Ecosystem Management: The Conservation Movement Today President Obama’s Environmental Policy http://www.grist.org/article/obama_factsheet 9.