Environmental History By the account I am giving it moves from reviews of environmental Policy 1950s to Thought 1960s to Technology 1960s 70s Science 1970s Gender early 1980s and Landscapes mid 1980s Environmental Movement 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Conservationism Preservationism Environmentalism Ecofeminism Deep Ecology philosophy Radical Environmentalism anarchism socialism etc Global ization and Ecological Change Authors Samuel P Hays 1959 Conservation and the Gospel of Efficiency POLICY Roderick Nash 1967 Wilderness and the American Mind THOUGHT Rachel Carson 1962 Silent Spring Houghton Mifflin TECHNOLOGY Donald Worster 1977 Nature s Economy The Roots of Ecology SCIENCE Carolyn Merchant 1982 The Death of Nature GENDER Hays pp 2 3 Conservation was above all a scientific movement Its essence was rational planning to promote the efficient development and use of all natural resources It is from the vantage point of applied science rather than of democratic protest that one must understand the historic role of the conservation movement Hays II Conservationists bitterly opposed those who sought to withdraw resources from commercial development Since resource matters were basically technical in nature conservationists argued technicians rather than legislators should deal with them p 3 Hays III In the late 19th C many became convinced that national social problems could be solved by decentralizing population from urban centers Many hoped that populating the west with Populist small farmers was the best way to go Doing this depended on rationalizing resource use and leveling the settlement playing field see classic western movies for examples of power differentials Hays IV Populism xenophobia racism and under population all combine here Urban interests saw the west as a social safety valve a way to relieve urban immigrant unrest Livestock extractive and industrial interests including labor also demanded that foreign investment and immigration be terminated Farmers did not want to compete with African Americans Asians or the wealthy foreign or domestic for American soil water or markets Hays V In terms of people and environment Conservationists wanted an organized rational and efficient use of water timber range and mineral resources At the same time social Progressives sought organized rational and efficient means of educating acculturating assimilating immigrants with Scientific Social Work Education and Criminal Justice Hays VI The key is that the general strategies for controlling the environment and the public was the same for Progressives and Conservationists Science was the key and the model and elite natural scientists and social engineers would determine what was good for people and the environment Nash Preservationism In contrast to Conservationism s interest in science and efficiency Preservationism embraces spirituality and reflection Nash will be next for a review at a later date
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