During the progressive era in the late 1800s to early 1900s, environmentalists such as John Muir, Ellen Swallow Richards, Jane Addams, Florence Kelly, and Alice Hamilton rallied for outright protection of the environment. With the help of organizations such as the Sierra Club conservationism began to take root, along with municipal reform and the groundwork for laws protecting the environment.
By the 1920s or thereabouts, more leagues and conservationist groups were popping up all over America. People rallied against pollution and its affects on the environment as well as the people. Way ahead of their time, the supporters of the chemurgy movement demanded "replacement of petroleum with farm alcohol and other industrial uses for agricultural crops," (radford.edu). A few years past, and the war began. Environmentalism was less mainstream for awhile as the war waged on in foreign lands. But by 1957, the Scipps Oceanographic Institute discovered that there was increasing CO2 build up in the ocean waters. (That was 53 years ago and we still haven't done anything about the drastic disregard for the ocean.)
In 1962, Rachel Carson's groundbreaking novel, Silent Spring was published and the environmental movement really kicked in. By the 1970s the Environmental Protection Agency was developed and called for reform in environmental policies. Air pollution was cut back, unleaded gas became the first choice, sewage treatment programs decreased water pollution, and an ever shortening oil supply lead to "some restrictions on refinery and oil pollution" (radford.edu).
As we get closer to present day, in the 1980s and 90s, disasters around the globe struck fear in the hearts of many. The Bhopal mass poisoning in India and Chernobyl explosion in the Ukraine, the Challenger space shuttle and Exxon Valdez oil spills in the United States. People everywhere were too dependent upon science and technology, and the emissions they produced were proven to be potentially dangerous. Soon scientists discovered that the ozone was being depleted by fluorocarbons, and in an attempt to quell some of those fears and enforce more strict environmental policies, the Montreal Protocol was signed in 1987.
Over the next few years, scientists did more and more research on global climate change- convinced on its existence. More information compiled, and some actions were taken. But the problem was that the people did not change. People continued to flagrantly disregard and pollute the environment, not bothering to enforce emission restrictions on automobiles or spread the importance of recycling. And sadly, today- more than 20 years later things still haven't gotten much better. The sad truth is that people have been rallying in support of the environment against the government for years. But nothing has been done. We can only hope that in the years to come, politicians create stricter environmental policies and head the warnings of generations of scientists.
- Amber
[see post from February 1, 2010: 'History of the Green Movement' for sources].
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