Environment

 

"Ideas about the consumption and conservation of natural resources.  The impact of population growth, industrialization, pollution, and urban and suburban expansion."

 

By:  M.H, A.S., A.W.

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Chapter 25: World War II

 

Mobilizing for War

 

 

 -The government encouraged many pro-business programs to produce materials for the war. 

·         War Production Board (WPB)

-Donald Nelson- executive vice-president of Sears Roebuck, appointed by Roosevelt to head the WPB

-Created by Roosevelt to mobilize the resources of the nation for the war.  The WPB offered businesses cost-plus contracts to secure ample and stable profits, and government also financed new plants and equipment.

-Also affected the agricultural industry by accelerating the mechanization and consolidation of farms and increasing the use of fertilizer.

·         The Office of Price Administration (OPA)

                              -Chester Bowles- advertising executive, directed the OPA

-Set prices on many items to control inflation and rationed products that were rare

·         National War Labor Board (NWLB)

-Monitored working conditions, set wages and hours, and could also seize industrial plants when the owners didn’t cooperate

·         Industrialization went up, also increasing the amount of factories.  The factories made products that increased the amount of garbage and exacerbated the problems of smog pollution, leading to more migration to urban centers. 

·         Is there a possible connection between this and our environmental situation today in terms of global warming?

 

 

 

Life during the War (Urbanization)

 

 

-Increase in factories and production led to the large amounts of migration to urban centers in the north and the west.

·         California experienced the most growth during this time

-Growing military-industrial complex

-Built up defense facilities because so many people were concerned about Japanese invasion of the mainland after Pearl Harbor had occurred

-Possessed open land for nuclear testing

·         Problems resulting from urbanization

-Housing shortages, overcrowded schools, hospitals weren’t able to keep up with the demands, increased crime, more prostitution, racial tensions, homesickness, immense pressure placed on the environment

·         Environmentally, urbanization also causes more pollutants to be released into the air and in the form of garbage and litter, simply because there is an abundance of people living within a certain place.  The need to expand destroys habitats and disrupts ecosystems.

 

 

The Creation of Nuclear Weapons

 

 

-President Roosevelt is alerted by Albert Einstein and other scientists that the Germans were researching the inventi0n of the atomic bomb, and this causes Roosevelt to put a top-secret project to work in order to create an American bomb first.  This became known as the Manhattan Project, and its main testing site was in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

 

-This leads to later concern about nuclear fallout and the possibility of devastating nuclear warfare in the 1950s, which serves to cause massive destruction of the environment.

 

-Atomic bombs first unveiled to end war with Japan bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which led to not only death, injury, and destruction, but long-term health problems and bad conditions for the environment.  Lands were easily destructed as a result of these bombs.

-Little Boy= uranium bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945

-Fat Man= plutonium bomb dropped in Nagasaki on August 9, 1945 

 

- “The blasts caused air pollution from dust particles and radioactive debris flying around, and from the fires burning everywhere. Many plants and animals were killed in the blast, or died moments to months later from radioactive precipitation. Radioactive sand clogged wells used for drinking water winning, thereby causing a drinking water problem that could not easily be solved. Surface water sources were polluted, particularly by radioactive waste. Agricultural production was damaged; dead stalks of rice could be found up to seven miles from ground zero. In Hiroshima the impact of the bombing was noticeable within a 10 km radius around the city, and in Nagasaki within a 1 km radius.” (http://www.lenntech.com/environmental-effects-war.htm)

 

 

 

Effects of Actual Warfare

 

 

-Extensive bombings throughout the world—carnage and combat led to the ultimate destruction of land and habitats

-Oil pollution from submarines and ships, air pollution from the fuels used in tanks, planes, and poisonous gases

-Has war today become more or less destructive to the environment?  Have the various advancements in technology served to make war more or less environmentally friendly?

 

 

 

Terms

 

 

 -Industrial-military complex- policy relationships b/t governments, national armed forces, & industrial support from commercial sector in political approval for research, development, production, use, and support for military functions within the national defense &security policy

-Little Boy & Fat Man- the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end the war with Japan

-Smog Pollution- A form of air pollution produced by the photochemical reaction of sunlight with hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides that have been released into the atmosphere, especially by automotive emissions

-Urbanization- the social process whereby cities grow and societies become more urban  

 

 

I.D.'s 

 

-President Roosevelt

-Donald Nelson

-Chester Bowles

 

 

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Chapter 26: Postwar Growth and Social Change

 

 

The Thriving Peacetime Economy

-Economic boom brings various new products and technology

-Large corporations are dominating business life and smaller franchise operations are being built such as McDonald's

-The automobile industry and the establishment of a massive interstate highway system caused a great amount of pollution, caused urban flight, and "helped create a nation dependent on a constant supply of cheap and plentiful oil" (Nash 916).

-Highways prove to be a significant cause of much of the pollution we see even presently. Air pollution is increased because of the harmful runoff from the gas of cars, and many also use the highway as a means of littering, which has become a huge problem to the environment today.

 

Population Shifts & Major Construction

-Major population growth as a result of the baby boom (birthrate rises, 4.3 million babies born in the year 1957), became the dominant factor affecting the population increase

-Death rate declining as a result of many miracle drugs, life expectancy rising significantly

-Several ways of life must be changed in order to accomodate these mass amounts of people, which leads to the growth of housing and more buildings for entertainment, like shopping centers...

 

 

 

 

-New suburbs begin to emerge--By the 1950s, 1/3 of Americans lived in suburbs--they "seemed protected from the growing troubles of the cities, insulated from the difficulties of the world outside" (Bailey 924).

-The mass production idea by William J. Levitt caused mass amounts of houses to be occupying the environment; created Levittowns, or communities of such housing.

-Fields, pastures, and forests were divided into squares with houses on them.

-Trees disappeared because the builders believed it was easier to cut them down than work around them.

-3,840 shopping centers in the U.S. by 1960--"further eroded urban health" (Bailey 925)

-This brings up an issue we deal with very strongly in the present. It seems as if every empty field and every possible space that is not being used for a purpose should be built upon. It has become more and more difficult to enjoy the beauty of nature without there being some type of building to obstruct it.

 

 

The Major Environmental Impact

 

-"Before long, virtually every American city was ringed by an ugly highway lined with the eating places, shopping malls, and auto dealerships that catered to the suburban population" (Bailey 925-926).

-Architect Peter Blake wrote God's Own Junkyard: The Planned Deterioration of America's Landscape, a muckraking book, and called out the reckless attitudes that are held towards the environment, saying, "The only trouble is that we are about to turn this beautiful inheritance into the biggest slum on the face of the earth."

-Blake thought public policy and the want for individual profits led to such mistreatment of the environment.

-Aside from some of these strong views, there was little real awareness about the environmental situation during this time period; environment as a term was hardly even utilized.

-This relates to Progressivism not only because muckraking is being used, but also because the world around is rapidly changing and people are probably getting themselves all wrapped up in the 50s life instead of paying attention to issues that are truly important such as the environment, instead neglecting them.

 

 

-On the other hand, the new prosperity caused some people to appreciate the environment. Longer vacations were taken, explorations of nature were performed, and people were thinking of new ways to use the environment for recreational purposes.

-Ideas of how to protect the environment

-National Outdoor Recreation Review Commission established by Congress in 1958- first step towards recognizing the environmental issues

-Acts to follow: National Wilderness Preservation Act (1964), Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, National Trails Act (1968)

-The need for open space was also noticed to make up for all the overdevelopment.

 

-People are slowly becoming more aware of their surroundings. They are beginning to use the environment for beneficial purposes such as recreation and preserving it through the series of these acts, but they need to continue being aware and do little things to help out the environment. It seems as if there is a great amount of people aware of helping the environment today and many steps are being taken to help, whether it be switching to more environmentally-friendly lightbulbs or bigger strides.

 

 

 

-Technology: Use of atomic energy from war research brings up environmental issues; R&D funded from Atomic Energy Commission (est. 1946) to produce more nuclear weapons, jet planes, and satellites.

-This atomic energy and these inventions can be a factor in the causing of more pollution.

 

Terms

 

Baby boom-the increase in birthrate following the return of the servicemen at the end of WWII

Suburbs-residential areas on the outskirts of cities or large towns

Levittowns- communities of houses inspired by William J. Levitt's mass production of housing idea

 

 

IDs

-National Outdoor Recreation Review Commission

-Peter Blake & God's Own Junkyard: The Planned Deterioration of America's Landscape

-William J. Levitt

-National Wilderness Preservation Act

-Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 27: CHILLS AND FEVER DURING THE COLD WAR

 

 

 

-During World War II, the major Allied powers occupied Iran.  They left within 6 months, but the Soviet Union remained. Stalin claimed security agreements were not honored so he demanded oil concessions. Threat of vigorous American action forced the Russians to depart.

- the demand of oil, a very important natural resource, caused problems during the Cold War and even today. We do anything to get oil because it supplies our transportation and military equipment.

-while cultivating close ties with Israel, U.S. also tried to maintain friendly with the Arab states

            -….because of their oil

-The Middle East: U.S. was concerned with both regional stability and the supply of oil

 

 

 

-Discovery of radioactive fallout: BRAVO blast in 1954 showered Japanese fishermen 85 miles away with radioactive dust. They became ill, and one died. The Japanese were outraged they were the first to experience the effects of atomic weapons.

-physicist Ralph Lapp, “cannot be felt and possesses all the terror of the unknown…like a bubonic plague”

-Nevil Shute’s novel, On The Beach described a war that release so much radioactive waste that all life in the northern hemisphere disappeared.

-the public were being exposed to how dangerous radioactivity is, and they were growing very anxious.  The fact that 2 nations now had the “h-bomb,” many were terrified.

-people were building a shelter in case a bomb did explode. End of 1960: a million family shelters were built

 

 

Atomic Protest:

-Democratic candidate (1956) Stevenson pointed out the danger of poisoning the atmosphere.

-1957, SANE (National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy) they said more tests=more damage to the children.

-women motivated this, 50,000 women marched in 60 communities to strike for peace

-the people were not so much worried about the environment, but they were worried for the children.  They believed further testings would end the human race.

 

 

Vocab:

h-bomb- hydrogen bomb functions by the fusion, or joining together, of lighter elements into heavier elements

Arab states - 

 

Radioactivity - the spontaneous emission of a stream of particles or electromagnetic rays in nuclear decay

Shelter - a chamber (often underground) reinforced against bombing and provided with food and living facilities; used during air raids

 

 

Identities:

Nevil Shute

Stevenson

Atomic Protest

SANE

 

 

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Chapter 28 :  High Water and Ebb Tide of the Liberal State

 

 

 

“Modern Republicanism”

 

• Republicans receive more financial support from oil companies, and the new Congress passed the Submerged Lands Act in 1953—took $4o billion of oil lands from federal government’s power and gave it to the power of the states—quoted “one of the greatest and surely the most unjustified give-away programs in all the history of the United States”-New York Times
• They also reduced federal authority in electric power fields and the Tennessee Valley Authority; Eisenhower authorized the Dixon-Yates syndicate the right to build a power plant in Arkansas.
• Much more activity was occurring regarding areas dealing with oil, electricity, and other similar resources, and the fact that private development was being encouraged in these fields increased the use of them.  This, in addition to the implementation of power plants, could easily lead to much destruction of our planet as a result of humanity’s misuse of these resources.

 

 

• Kennedy helped to fund much space exploration—the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) gained much increased funding

 

The Great Society and its Impact

 

• The environmental movement was brought to life again when the Great Society came into play
• 1962—naturalist Rachel Carson attempted to get the word out about the hazardous consequences of pesticide poisoning and environmental pollution; Carson wrote a book entitled Silent Spring, in which she expressed her views on these issues.  The chemical industry fought her views and claimed that her writing was too fanciful, she did succeed in getting a special presidential advisory committee to warn people.
• President Johnson yearned to do something about unnecessary air fumes, lethal sludge in rivers and streams, and disappearing wildlife.
• National Wilderness Preservation Act of 1964—set 9.1 million acres of wilderness aside.
• President Johnson’s wife, Lady Bird Johnson, led beautification campaign to help eliminate objects such as billboards and junkyards along the highways.
• September 1965—Dept. of Housing and Urban Development program passed, calling for additional programs for housing needs and the improvement of communities as a whole.
• October 1965—Air Quality Act & Water Quality Act passed by Congress
• September 1966—Model Cities program passed, attempting to reduce the amount of slums
• Although some people still showed a care for the environment, there was a fairly low amount of progress made within this time.  The effects of this carelessness can clearly be seen within our world today, because the wasting of resources and lack of care for wildlife has caused the diminution of the environment’s ultimate health and increased extinction rates within wildlife.

 

 

The Carter Interlude

 

·         Americans yearned for “energy self-sufficiency”—Carter  created an energy program MEOW (“moral equivalent of war”)—helped the nation move from dependence on oil to dependence on coal, sun, and wind, also creating synthetic-fuel corporation.

·         Nuclear power was another alternative, but it wasn’t very popular to the citizens of the country.

·         These were clearly very good ideas, because as we see today, much progress has been made through the utilization of these powers, especially wind-powered and sun-powered machinery, such as large windmills and solar panels.

 

 

Terms

 

·         Power plant- an electrical generating station

·         Pesticide poisoning- Pesticide poisonings occur when chemicals intended to control a pest affect non-target organisms such as humans, wildlife, or bees.

 

IDs

 

·         Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

·         President Carter

·         President Johnson and his wife

·         Various acts implemented by congress

 

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CHAPTER 29: The Struggle for Social Reform

 

 

 

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-          Mid 1960s, 17% of public considered air and water pollution to be one of the 3 major governmental problems… By 1970, 53% (Gallup Poll)

o   More and more Americans became concerned with environment, and the issues were from the Progressive Era

o   The people wanted a better “quality of life.” This is life with clear air, unpolluted waters, and unspoiled wilderness.

-          Rachel Carson, naturalist, published book, Silent Spring: aim at chemical pesticides.

o   This made people more worried about “threats” in their natural surroundings

o   More Americans learned about the pollution around them, and they became increasingly more worried about pesticides, motor vehicle exhaust, and water.

  

 

 

 

-          Earth Day (1970) is created to celebrate world’s natural resources and warned of continuing threats.

o   This shows that the people are VERY worried and they are trying to do little things to preserve the earth.

-          1969, Americans learned that thermal pollution from nuclear power plants were killing fish in both eastern and western rivers.

-          1978, public found out about toxic chemicals dumped in Cove Canal (Niagara Falls, NY)…later they found out that the poison in the canal, dioxin, is one of the most deadliest substances ever made. 

-          Sports Illustrated aroused fishermen, sailors, and other recreational enthusiasts

o   Concern about deterioration of the environment increased as people learned more about substance they had taken for granted.

o   This shows that environmentalists were not the only people who spread the awareness. The problems started to become more important to the people since magazines like Sports Illustrated demonstrated their acknowledgement of the problems

  

 

 

 

 

 

-          Nuclear accident in 1979: mishap at one of the reactors at Three Mile Island, PA. Part of nuclear core began to disintegrate, and an explosion releasing radioactivity into the atmosphere possible => thousands fled

o   The disaster never happened, but the reaction of the people shows their understanding of the danger

o   The plants…once hailed as a wave of the future, now appeared more destructive as ever

-          Groups like Clamshell Alliance and Abalone Alliance campaigned aggressively against licensing new nuclear plants.

o   Activist tactics did not always succeed in their immediate goals, but they did mobilize opinion sufficiently that no new plants were authorized after 1979

 

 

 

-          Ogallala aquifer in the Great Plains and California used up enormous amounts of waters because both are naturally very dry. 

-          American West: “the greatest hydraulic society ever built in history”

o   The main problem environmentalists in the west worried about was excessive water use

o   More and more people were hearing about environmental problems and it started to be heard in the government

§  Critic Marc Reisner, “Forty years ago, only a handful of heretics, howling at wilderness, challenged the notion that the West needed hundreds of new dams.  Today they are almost vindicated.

-          Lyndon Johnson, vision of the Great Society: “environment that is pleasing to the senses and healthy to live in” won legislation to halt the depletion of the earth

o   The environmentalists’ aims were to control toxic byproducts but as they became more successful they pushed further to include occupational health and social orders. 

o   They pressed legislative and administrative bodies to regulate polluters

§  Environmental concerns were not only affecting average people…their tactics were working and being heard in the government

-          During Richard Nixon’s presidency, many environmental acts were passed

 

 Endangered Species Act of 1973 prohibited federal government from supporting any projects that might jeopardize species into extinction

o   This caused economic and ecological debate, because it got into direct conflict with loggers in the Pacific Northwest.

o   Both argued:

§  Environmental: forests they cut provided the last refuge of the spotted owl. Scientist and the U.S. Forest Service pushed to set aside timberland so that the owl can survive

§  Loggers: this action jeopardized their livelihood

§  Logging fell off drastically

§  Before, the satisfaction of people won but now, saving animals are more important.  The attitude of the American people are changing as this shows that they are becoming more selfless and thinking responsibly for the earth

-          Ralph Nader published book, Unsafe at Any Speed. He argues that cars were coffins on wheels. His efforts paved the way for National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966. It set minimum safety standards for vehicles on public highways, provided for inspection to ensure compliance, and created a National Motor Vehicle Safety Advisory Council

o   This problem is similar to the environmental issue because safety is the primary concern, not economic, financial, or etc.

o    During the 1960s, people’s attitude of the earth and its problems were changing. They became more aware of nature and its importance.  This paved for other concerns relating to safety.

 

 

 

VOCAB:

Thermal pollution- Industrial discharge of heated water into a river, lake, or other body of water, causing a rise in temperature

Nuclear power plant- A facility that converts atomic energy into usable power

Dioxin- toxic or carcinogenic hydrocarbons that occur as impurities in herbicides

Loggers- someone who harvests lumber

 

 

 

 

ID’s:

Silent Spring

Clamshell and Abalone Alliance

Western America and water

Vision of Great Society

Endangered Species Act of 1973

Ralph Nader

 

 

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Chapter 30

 

 

 

Policies of Environment

 

 

- President Reagan embarked on a major program of deregulation.  He focused on agencies of the 1970s like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. He believed environmental regulations were inefficient, paternalistic, and excessively expensive.  He believed they impeded business growth and needed to be eliminated!!

 

- Reagan clearly had no interest in environmental concerns along with regulations pertaining to the consumer and the workplace. He wanted everything to promote economic growth, because that was his major concern: to provide new businesses to prosper.

 

- The Department of the Interior opened forest lands, wilderness areas, and coastal waters to economic development, with no concern for preserving the natural environment.

 

- Environmentalists were very discouraged but could not do much.

 

 

- George Bush signed new Clean Air legislation...but later eased it to accommodate businesses

 

- He was more sympathetic to the environmentalists than Reagan but as the economy faltered, he became less willing to support environmental actions that may slow economic growth

 

 

- Clinton administration tried to take middle ground in spotted owl controversy, by protecting substantial stretches of forest but still permitting more logging than had been done in recent years.

 

- President Clinton's vice president was Al Gore (we know as a dedicated environmentalist!). They did not achieve much progress in the environmental aspect, because the issues were hardly subject to easy resolution at such a conservative time.

 

 

Industrial Change

 

 

 

- Automation and technological advances impacted the workplace.

- Some feared people will forget how to do everything since everything is starting to be run by computers. This might cause job losses. Others worried about radiation and muscular fatigue from sitting and scaring into a computer all day.

- This new change brought more work instead.

- This may be the result from the idea that since workers do not physically and tiredly work all day, they are able to work more.  But this resulted in more stress and pressure between work and family life.

 

-After 1978, the United States contributed only 16% of the world's steel and iron. It used to be 60%. The United States had been world’s industrial leader since late 19^th century, but by 1970s, the U.S. began to lose their position.

- Also imported 1/5 of iron and steel from the world. Japanese car manufactures captured quarter of American automobile market, still in 1990.

-The U.S. tends to think that we have the power to do anything.  After we beat the Germans and Japanese in WWII, then we helped them rebuilt... allowing them to reach new heights of efficiency.

 

Population Increase

 

- 1990, population increase from 228 million to 250 million.

 

 

 

From Immigration:

 

- Immigration was spurred by Immigration Act of 1965, which authorized the acceptance of immigrants from all parts of the world.

 

- The United States was receiving new and different ethnic infusions, supporting the famous saying, a nation of immigrants.

- Millions illegally arrive from Latin American because the population soared but economic conditions deteriorated. They saw the United States as a relief.

 

- The United States was hope for success and better life.  Even today, there are many illegal immigrants coming in searching for work.

- Congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act, in 1986. It aimed at curbing illegal immigration while offering amnesty to aliens who lived in the U. S. since 1982.

- Immigration Act of 1990 revised the level and preference for admission into the U.S. and refined administrative procedures for naturalization. They put back restrictions on ideology and sexual orientation.

- This act recognizes the importance and historic contribution of immigrants to the country.

 

From Birth and Death:

- The baby boom started after World War II. It exploded at first in 1960, but then decreased and now slowing climbing up again. 

- Although population is slowing increasing, death rates among ages 15-26 rose steadily after 1976.

- 1900-1980, population tripled. Advances in medical care, increased life expectancy from 47 to 74

- At first the population increased because soldiers were returning back home. Now as medicine is helping people live longer, it also affects the number of babies, because births are more successful than it was before.

 

Demographic and Regional Change

 

 

 

- Suburban growth continued, leaving large minority population in the cities. The minorities were usually Blacks, Hispanics, and some cases Asians. People living in the suburbs recieved high pay than the people in the city.

- The separation created a large gap between the the poor and the rich.

- The West was going through a pattern of urban and regional development since World War II.  In 1900, population of the west was 5%, but by 1990, it stood at 21%.

- Western cities were unbounded, and indefinite. There was tourism, research centers.

- California was the nation's fastest growing state, with Los Angeles, the most dynamic example of American vitality and creativity.  The motion picture industry exerted a worldwide impact.

- The people were more familiar with moving around and comfortable with expanding.  The western cities are the symbol of the United States life in the 20th century. The demographic and regional shows the United States is constantly changing to make itself better.

 

 

Vocabulary:

immigrant - a person who comes to a country where they were not born in order to settle there

suburban - a residential district located on the outskirts of a city

environmentalist - someone who works to protect the environment from destruction or pollution

minorities - a group of people who differ racially or politically from a larger group

 

ID's:

Ronald Reagan

George Bush

Bill Clinton

Al Gore

Immigration Act of 1965