American Environmental History Miderm 2

When did coal surpass wood in US?

ca 1885, •Recent v. ancient energy•Fossil fuels concentrate energy: one gal. gas = 40 acres wheat

Who was Ralph Waldo Emerson?

•1803-1882•Essayist, philosopher, poet,lecturer•Individualism•Transcendentalism

How did forest conservation criminalize local subsistence traditions?The Adirondacks as a case study

•Adirondacks, 1883-1894•Influenced by Marsh•16,000 inhabitants•Hunting, logging, burning poaching, stealing, arson•Class conflicts•Private Parks•Hunting: locals vs. non-local sportsmen•Similar attitudes in West

What were the human costs?

•Health•"Dust Pneumonia" •Economic•Psychological

How did people get their water in early 19th c.?

•Local water supplies•Wells, cisterns, springs, ponds, streams•Hard to escape miasmas•Acquiring water•Individual labor•Private Companies, wooden pipes•Not city-wide

How did British experience shape disease understanding?

•London cholera epidemic 1854•Dr. John Snow•Cases from single pump on Broad Street•Removed pump handle, disease plummeted•Transatlantic exchange of ideas•Miasmas mainly from bad water

How did the first oil boom in Pennsylvania set the pattern for future oil production?

•Titusville/Oil Creek, Penn.•Univ. chemists show oil burns•Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company (1857)•Oil strike, 1859•Petroleum = rock oil•Petrolia•Boomtowns (Pithole)•Establishes a pattern•Sacrificial landscapes•Spindletop, Texas (1901)•Wildcatting

William Henry Jackson (1843-1942)

•Trained as painter•CivilWarsoldier•1866 ride to end of train•BullwhackertoSaltLakeCity•Omaha photographer

How did American oil producers enable dependence through guaranteed supply?

•Transportation technology•Standard Oil Company of Ohio•John D. Rockefeller, Sr.•Efficiency and standardization•Horizontal integration•Reaction against Standard•Ida Tarbell•"Muckraking"•Sherman Antitrust Act, 1890

How did industry adopt coal?

•Water power unreliable for mills•Coal reliable, abundant, energy-dense•Steam engines adaptable: mines, locomotives, boats, ships, printing presses, factories

How did economics contribute to the Dust Bowl? (1900-1930)

•World War I•Production boom•1920s indebtedness•"Suitcase farmers"

Who WasHenry David Thoreau?

•1817-1862•Naturalist,essayist•Walden•"Civil Disobedience"

How did coal power Pittsburgh's industry?

•Coking plants: coal heated to drive off impurities, enabling coal to burn hotter and cleaner•Coke for steel and glass making, etc.

Why so much resentment in West?

•Federal government owned much of West•Extractive industries used to free use of federal land•National Forests mainly in West

How did cities update infrastructure? NYC example

.•1887 view of Croton Aquaducts•Foreground: Croton Reservoir (rural area)•Background: NYC•Broken line = Old Croton Aquaduct (used to 1955)•Unbroken line = New Croton Aquaduct (built 1885-1890); 10% of NYC water today

Why did United States develop conservation movement between 1890 and 1920?

A change in view of natural resources—from unlimited to limited—spurred movement to use resources efficiently and sustainably. Progressive conservationists promoted management of resources by government experts for greatest good for longest period of time. Conservation mission embodied by U.S. Forest Service and National Forests.

How did nature contribute to the Dust Bowl?

•Drought of the 1930s•Dust storms•Black Sunday (14 April 1935)•Frequency in springtime

What was the human response?

•Humor•Endurance•Migration•Exodusters

Why did cities grow?

•Mainly during the Nineteenth century•Immigration•Industrialization

What was the Dust Bowl?

•Series of large dust storms on southern Great Plains in 1930s•Also the region of the country with dust storms in 1930s (Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado)

How and when did oil and natural gas form?

•Similar processes as coal•From ancient aquatic plants•Death, decomposition over millions of years•Heat + pressure created oil•Higher heat + pressure created gas •Flowed toward surface, trapped under caprocks

How did steam engines power factories?

•Steam engines turned shafts on ceilings•Belts transferred rotation from shafts to machine•Belts usually bison leather (durable)•One steam engine ran many machines•Steam engines increase in rate of work

Why the Dust Bowl?

•The Dust Bowl happened due to a mismatch between agricultural technology, economic systems, and the physical requirements of nature. It was both a human and natural disaster that elicited a variety of responses.

Where was the Dust Bowl?

•The Great Plains•Grasslands•Loess soils•98th meridian to Rocky Mountains•Rain shadow•Irrigation usually needed for row crops

How did Watt change steam engines?

•Watt steam engine (1763-1775)•Improvements•Separate condenser•Prevents cooling of piston & cylinder•Rotary motion•Why better?•Reduced fuel cost•Makes mining & factories more profitable•Main use•Factories (due to rotary motion)

Why was there demand for petroleum by the middle of the nineteenth century?

•Whale oil•Moby Dick (1851)•Illumination (oil, candles)•Lubrication•Overhunting—Atlantic, then Arctic, then Pacific•Shortage•Kerosene, 1850s•Synthetic oil from coal•Demand for illuminants•Petroleum: abundant, no sea hunt, less processing than coal oil, kerosene

How did the United States develop a system of national parks?

•Yosemite (California)•1851: Mariposa Wars (miners v. Indians)•1860s: tourism - sublime nature•1864: state park•1890: national park (Muir led)•Yellowstone (Wyoming, Idaho, Montana)•Geothermal wonders•1871: bureaucrats, painters, RR execs•1872: national park (first)•National Park Service (1916)•Stephen Mather•Yosemite in disrepair•National campaign•Merges conservation and preservation ideas•Conserve and make accessible

When did U. S. claim the West?

•1803: Louisiana Purchase•Manifest Destiny•1840s-1850s: U. S. claimed the rest of West through war, purchase, treaty

How did cities get their water after 1830?

•City govt. role increased•New methods and technology•Cleaner water from outside cities•Aqueducts•Pipes and pumps•Increased stature of experts

How did English machines reach U. S.?

•English laws forbade export of textile machinery and emigration of people who could operate it•Samuel Slater (left; 1768-1835) oversaw English mill•US offered bounty for textile tech•1789: Slater memorized machine plans, migrated to US disguised as farmer•"Slater the traitor"

How did indigenous peoples use the Plains?

•Hunter-gatherers•Agriculture•Left grass in place•Some dust storms, but probably not bad

How did germ theory explain common disease transmission?

•Key concept: Fecal-oral diseases•Pathogens exit one person in feces, and next person ingests pathogens from feces orally•Typhoid, cholera are fecal-oral diseases•Five main paths between people for fecal-oral diseases begin with F1.Fluids2.Fingers3.Flies4.Fields5.Food

Thomas Moran

•1837-1926•HudsonRiverSchool•Magazine illustrator, Yellowstone paintings

What was the environmental context?

•Climate on the High Plains•"Great American Desert"•Periodic drought•Grasslands ecology•Windy

How did federal experts rely on states to spread conservation?

•Conference of Governors on the Conservation of Natural Resources, 1908•TR and Pinchot•Goal: broad support for conservation•Governors, industry•Results•National inventory•Eastern state support•Western resentment•State programs (Mich. Reforestation)

How did cities improve urban environments in Progressive Era?

•Dense cities spawned epidemic diseases.•Miasma theory said bad air from bad water caused disease, so piped in water.•Overflowing cesspools spread human waste and miasmas, so built sewer systems.•Clean water + sewage the most effective health projects in history.•Miasma theory led to solutions even though germ theory later replaced it.

What were the social and environmental costs of a coal-driven economy?

•Disparities in wealth•Smoke•Progress, beauty•Rich moved upwind, uphill•Richer suburbs, commute by coal-powered trolleys, RR•Dependency•Rural—steam powered tractors, coal heating and cooking•Urban—"We cannot exist without it" - Denver Chamber of Commerce, 1907

How did National Park Service sell Indians in Yosemite?

•Dressed California Indians like Plains Indians (war bonnet), rode horses•White employees and visitors dressed like stereotyped Indians

How did coal form?

•From ancient plants in salt and fresh wetlands•Plants to peat•Sediments covered peat•Pressure + heat from earth's core created coal•Europe and eastern US: 360-300 mya; high sulfur from seawater •Rocky Mountains: 70 mya; low sulfur from freshwater

Why Pittsburgh in particular?

•Large local coal field•Mining began late 18th c. near Mt. Washington (below)

Why did cities turn to experts?

•Progressive movement, 1880-1920•Urban reform•Technocracy = rule by technical experts•Engineers (sanitary engineering, now part of civil engineering)•Bacteriologists

How did foreign oil producers enable dependence through guaranteed supply?

•Replicating Standard's model•Multinational corporations•Colonialism•Royal Dutch/Shell•British Petroleum (BP)

What ideas and principles guided the conservation movement?

•Utilitarianism and efficiency•Conservation = "the greatest good, for the greatest number, for the longest run"•"Wise use" and efficiency > waste•Conservation = development•Science and expertise•Federal agencies•Technocracy = rule by technical experts•TR, "New Nationalism" (1910)•Human welfare more important than property rights•Strong government to counter industry

How did Romanticism and nationalism shape views of future national parks?

•Valued for scenery•1860: Thomas Starr King on Yosemite: "Nowhere among the Alps, in no pass of the Andes, and in no Canyon of the mighty Oregon range," he stated, "is there such stupendous rock scenery."•1871: Ferdinand Hayden re Yellowstone: "We pass with rapid transition from one remarkable vision to another, each unique of its kind and surpassing all others in the known world. The intelligent American will one day point on the map to this remarkable district with the conscious pride that it has not its parallel on the face of the globe."

How did clean water stop fecal-oral diseases?

•Water transmitted diseases•Clean water = no pathogens = no water-borne diseases•Clean water for drinking, cooking, bathing, tooth brushing, ice, swimming (many chances to ingest water orally) •Water washed diseases•Wash pathogens off hands, e.g., after defecating•Wash pathogens off food•Wash pathogens off surfaces, e.g., cutting boards

When was the Dust Bowl?

•1930s•Great Depression•Economic collapse•Large unemployment

What are national parks?

•Land owned by federal government•Designated as national parks by Congress•Managed by the National Park Service•Combine tourism (open to all) and nature protection•Most in West: Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier, Sequoia, Zion•Some in East: Shenandoah, Great Smoky Mountains, Everglades

What are National Forests today?

•Land owned by federal government•Managed by US Forest Service in Dept. of Agriculture•193 million acres of land, roughly the size of Texas•Forest Service motto: "Caring for the Land and Serving People"•Manage land for multiple uses, including mining, logging, grazing, recreation, hunting, etc

How and why did Americans welcome coal into their homes?

•Lighting•Gashouses (coal to gas)•Electricity•Denver, the "City of Light"•Powered by coal•Heating and cooking•Wood (scarce in West) versus coal (main home fuel)•Social disparities—clean coal for elite v. dirty coal for middle v. scavenged RR coal for poor

How did conservation lead to unintended ecological consequences?

•Manage forests and animals like factories•Fire suppression: tinder box•Predator control•Kaibab National Forest and Grand Canyon Game Preserve•1906: 4,000 deer•1924: 100,000 deer•1926: 40,000

How did people understand disease before 1880?

•Miasmatic theory•Miasmas = bad smells, vapors (malaria = bad air)•From filth, rot•Prevention = avoid miasmas•Smelly, bad-tasting water dangerous

How did national parks affect indigenous peoples? Yosemite as case study

•Mid-19th c.: Southern Sierra Miwoks (subset Ahwahneechee), Northern Paiutes, Monos•State militias and miners drove out many Natives in Sierra, but communities survived in Yosemite

What was the Hudson River School?

•Mid-19th c.•Landscape painters•Romantic painting(Europe)•Originally Hudson River area •Expandedscope

What was the difference between conservation and preservation?

Conservation•Protect for economic development Preservation•Protect from economic development

How did national parks affect indigenous peoples? Yellowstone as case study

Fort Yellowstone Cavalry on patrol in Yellowstone NP•Long Shoshone use; guaranteed hunting rights•Dispossession•Tourists feared Indians•Hunting rights violated•Dwindling bison•1868 treaty—hunt in YNP•Ward v. Race Horse (1896)—revoked hunting rights•Forced out of park•Similar events: Grand Canyon and Havusapai

Are all bad diseases fecal-oral?

No, but many are. Fecal-oral•Cholera•Typhoid•Amoebic dysentery•Bacterial dysentery•Giardia•Most of these cause diarrhea, which spreads pathogens rapidly Other transmission routes •Insect vectors•Malaria•Yellow fever•Typhus •Airborne droplets (respiratory)•Covid-19•Flu•Colds

Why did these ideas gain traction around the turn of the 20th century?

•"Closing" of the frontier•Census of 1890: no more line with "unsettled" land beyond•Frederick Jackson Turner, 1893: frontier made Americans unique•Frontier anxiety•Concentration in West•Federal government: broker of lands manager of lands•Progressive reform and the state

Where did America first industrialize?

•1790: Slater et al. set up water powered textile mill in Pawtucket, R. I.•1810s: Francis Cabot Lowell built textile mill in Waltham, Mass.•Lowell's partners created first large mills in his honor in Lowell, Mass.•Lowell mills powered by Merrimack River•Canal system to harness river•Lowell today a National Park

What did Emerson say in "Nature"?

•1836 essay•God/divine suffuses nature, so meet divine in nature •Solitude to escape society's distractions •Transparent eyeball byC.P. Cranch, 1836-38

Why did cities start building sewers?

•1850s - 1870s•Water supply increases volume (water closets)•Cesspools overflow•Miasmas spread•Miasma theory = get rid of foul wastes, odors•Solution through dilution•Pipe waste from cities to waterways•No treatment of sewage•Combine stormwater and sewage

How did Western scenery enable U. S. nationalists to claim equality with (or superiority to) Europe?

•1860s: U. S. had ancient, monumental works of nature, e.g., Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Yosemite•1863: Albert Bierstadt + other artists to Yosemite, California•Bierstadt's paintings the first, large, color images of Yosemite in East•1864: Frederick Law Olmsted lobbied Congress to make Yosemite a park•1864: Congress donated Yosemite to California as state park

How did railroads encourage national parks?

•1869: transcontinental railroad•1871: Northern Pacific Railroad (and Scribner's Monthly) funded Thomas Moran on Yellowstone expedition•Northern Pacific would offer the only RR to Yellowstone (later Union Pacific)•Northern Pacific RR may have suggested 1872 Yellowstone bill to Congress

Why and how did sewer systems change?

•1870s-1880s•Many pipes to nearby waterway•Miasmas•Centralization and distant outflow of sewage•E.g., Boston, 1875•Combined sewage with stormwater•No treatment

What was the purpose of Yellowstone NP?

•1872 Act of Congress: "dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people." •Sec. of Interior to create regulations "for the preservation from injury or spoliation, of all timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or wonders within said park," which must be retained "in their natural condition."

Who managed national parks?

•1872-1886: Sec. of Interior, who failed to prevent...•Poaching•Fire setting•Defacing of hot springs•1886-1916: Army managed parks under Sec. of Interior•1901: Naturalist John Muir--"The national parks are...efficiently managed and guarded by small troops of United States cavalry."

Ansel Adams

•1902-1984•Born San Francisco•Father:Emersondevotee•Yosemite visit: camera•SierraClub•Clearfocus,fulltonal range

Why did the National Park Service emerge?

•1910 ff: lobbying by Women's Clubs, Civic Association, Olmsted for a National Park Service (NPS)•1915: Industrialist Stephen Mather, lawyer Horace Albright, members of Congress planned new park service•1916: Congress created National Park Service in Dept. of Interior•1916 Act: NPS "purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."•Tension in obligations?

Major Features of American Romanticism

•19th century to present•Centered in arts (visual, written)•Highlighted individuality, emotions, direct contact with nature•Urban and anti-urban•Transcendentalism (Emerson, Thoreau)

How did cities handle human waste before sewers?

•Backyard privies = outhouses•Cesspit = cesspool = hole in ground for human waste•Wooden structure for seating and privacy (privy from same root as privacy)

How did new theories change the systems?

•Bacteriology ("germ theory") •1880s•Pathogens (bacteria, then viruses, etc.) cause disease•Still waterborne, but not caused by "bad air" •Water treatment•Filtration•Treatment

How did use of coal develop in England?

•Began: 13th & 14th centuries•Scarcity & rising price of wood increased use of coal•Coking (driving out impurities with heat) increase efficiency of coal•Energy density•Wood pellets: 13.6m btu/ton•Coal: 26m btu/ton

Who were key figures in conservation movement?

•Bernhard Fernow, Economics of Forestry, 1902 •Theodore Roosevelt•President, 1901-1909•Laws, policies, bully pulpit•Republican •Gifford Pinchot•Wealthy family (logging)•Chief Forester•Division of Forestry, 1898-1905•US Forest Service, 1905-1910 (Dept. of Agriculture)•Republican

How did Euroamericans use the Plains before 1900?

•Cattle and Ranching, 1870s-1880s•Dependent on grasslands•Winter, 1885-86•Farming, 1880s-1890s•Homestead Act of 1862•"Rain will follow the plow"•Drought, 1890s•John Wesley Powell•Report on the Lands of the Arid Region of the United States (1878)•"pasturage farms"

How did coal fuel transportation on Plains and in West?

•Challenges to transportation•Aridity•Scarcity of wood•Almost no navigable rivers•Coal, RRs, westward expansion•Union Pacific•Trains ran on coal•Trains transported coal

Why did England have an advantage in coal?

•Chance: abundant coal•Key idea: industrialization = shift in energy regime•Recent solar energy regime •Food plants and trees capture and store recent solar energy •Solar energy in food power muscles in people and draft animals•Agricultural energy regime•Ancient solar energy regime•Plants captured solar energy mya•Plants compressed and heated, forming coal, oil, natural gas•Industrial energy regime

What diseases struck cities?

•Cholera •Typhoid•Yellow fever•Common features•High mortality, morbidity•Rapid spread•Urban areas•Epidemics

How did New York City's Croton Aqueduct & Reservoir (built 1837-1842) illustrate new approach?

•Cholera•1832 outbreak spurred citizens to accept•Cholera = bile•Diarrhea, vomiting, cramps, collapse•Often fatal •Engineering feat•Dammed Croton River•41 miles long - Irish immigrant labor•100 million gallons/day•Some of first aquaducts in US

A Case Study: How did Chicago's sewer systems evolve?

•City elevation close to Lake Michigan level, so drained badly•Wanted to put in sewers, but below lake level•1850s-1870s: raised the city 6-16 feet so could install sewers below•1860s - sewer systems built•Into Lake Michigan via Chicago River

How and why did coal fuel urbanization and industrialization?

•Coal central to industrialization, urbanization•Bricks—bake in high coal heat•Portland cement—needs high heat to make•"Brick made this city (denver)"

How did steam engines convert energy to power?

•Energy in coal/ton = 2 x energy in wood/ton)•Steam engines converted coal's chemical energy into mechanical power•Newcomen atmospheric engine (1712)•Main use: remove water from mines•Horsepower = how many horses a steam engine replaced•Importance of metallurgy•High efficiency steam engines required expansion chambers that withstood high pressure

How did America industrialize?

•England led in mechanization and steam engines in 18th-19th c.•In 19th and 20th c., US followed by substituting machines for hand labor, and by substituting ancient solar energy (fossil fuels) for recent solar energy (food). •The first wave of mechanization relied on water power to drive mills. •The second wave relied on fossil fuels, especially coal for steam engines. Coal the fuel for industrialization around world.•Oil later supplemented coal, primarily as transportation fuel for internal combustion engines.

How did nationalism encourage national parks?

•Europeans belittled U. S. as young, inferior culture. Lacked ancient ruins, castles, cathedrals, long artistic heritage•1784: Jefferson--American environment superior to European, so would create great culture•Early 1800s: U. S. intellectuals claimed American rivers, scenery superior to European•U. S. claims unconvincing for Eastern scenery (right)

How did cities treat water? Was it effective?

•Filtration: sand filters•Disinfection•First chlorination = Jersey City, 1908•Typhoid rates•1900: 100/100k people•1920: 34/100k people•2006: 0.1/100k people•Graph: biggest improvements in health before antibiotics

How did ideas and experience shape forest conservation?

•George Perkins Marsh, Man and Nature (1864)•Deforestation ruined ancient civilizations•Man can harm nature enough to hurt self•100,000 copies in months•Myth of inexhaustibility exploded•Great Lakes experience•"Timber famine"•Sustained-yield forestry•Gifford Pinchot to Germany, France•No fires, monocultures•Forests as efficient farms or factories, not wild•Key events•1891 - national forests established•1898—10 employees in Division of Forests•1905 - Forest Service created•1910—2500 employees, 200 million acres in national forests

How did conservation and preservation lead to conflict?

•Hetch Hetchy Valley (Yosemite)•San Francisco earthquake and fires, 1906•Dam river in Yosemite for SF water•Pinchot vs. Muir•Gender baiting•Dammed 1913-1914

How did Romantic painters encourage national parks?

•Hudson River school painters traveled in West, portrayed monumental nature to East and Congress•1863: Bierstadt in Yosemite•1871: Thomas Moran on federal expedition to Yellowstone•Moran painted large, sublime, Romantic landscapes (right)•Moran's Yellowstone paintings displayed in Congress•Congress created world's first national park, Yellowstone, in 1872

Why did western Pennsylvania lead in coal and steam engines?

•Innovative Pennsylvania railroad in 1850s•J. Edgar Thomson (president)•William Palmer (1836-1908), secretary, visited Wigan, England. Saw coal use, talked to experts•1850s: Helped Penn. RR convert from wood (scarce) to coal power•Andrew Carnegie (also secretary)•Large coal deposits•British immigrants with mining experience for supervisors in US mines•Other nationalities for labor

Who were key advocates of national parks? What were their principles?

•John Muir (right)•Naturalist, advocate of Yosemite •Nature sacred, intrinsic value, protect from people•Founded Sierra Club, 1892 (outing club)•Books, magazine articles •Theodore Roosevelt (left)•Youthful weakling embraced rugged masculinity, tested self against nature•1901-1909: President •5 national parks created•16 national monuments (incl. Grand Canyon) created•53 wildlife refuges created

How did industrialization originate?

•Key features of industry•Factories owned by capitalists•Machines substitute for labor•Working class•Mostly fossil fuels•English mechanized cotton spinning and weaving in late 18thc.•Spawned factories, working class •First water power, then coal and steam engines

How did the Hudson River School Shape Understanding of West?

•Moran's paintings helped convince Congress to create Yellowstone National Park•Rocky MountainSchool-Moran-AlbertBierstadt

How were Natives dispossessed?

•Moved to temporary cabins in 1930s: Indian Village•Paid rent•1950s: closed Indian Village; most moved to town outside park•Some full time employees stayed in employee housing

What was the cultural response?

•Music•Woody Guthrie•Photography•Dorothea Lange•Arthur Rostein•Paintings•Alexandre Hogue•Literature•John Steinbeck

How did Natives work in Yosemite N.P.?

•Natives stayed in Yosemite•Seen as peaceful, subservient•Labor: laundry

How did consumers guarantee continued demand for petroleum?

•Navies switch from coal to oil, 1910s•Rise of automobility•Henry Ford•Model T

How and why were Americans forced to reckon with the extent of their dependence?

•Naïve dependence, 1920-1973•Accelerates post-WWII•Oil crisis of 1973-74•OPEC•False scarcity

How did North Americans use petroleum before 1859?

•Oil Creek, Pennsylvania—oil seeped to surface•Seneca peoples—oil ointment, skin coloring•Euro-american settlers•Medicinal uses—soak aches in oil springs, drink oil•Cure-all medicine (left)

Features of Hudson River School paintings?

•People are mainly small or absent•Nature is often sublime and powerful•Type of nature is usually strong•Transcendental

Who suffered from these diseases?

•People•Cholera: poor whites in north, African Americans in south•Blamed victims: "immoral" people poor, sick•1830s: immorality causes disease, so individual responsibility•1860s: disease is a social problem, so government responsibility

What was transcendentalism?

•Philosophical movement in Eastern US•1820-1830s•People and nature inherently good•Society corrupted purity of individual •People at best when self-reliant, independent•Essays, poems, lectures

How did technology contribute to the Dust Bowl? (1900-1930)

•Plant physiology•Sodbusting•Steel plow•Mechanization