Environmentalism Then and Now

Is Going Green New?

You be the Judge…

Now

Then

Pennsylvania governor William Penn requires colonists to conserve one tree for every five cut down.

1681

Now

ThenBenjamin Franklin petitioned the Pennsylvania Assembly to stop waste dumping in the Philadelphia harbor. He said it caused “poor smells,” disease, and violated “public rights.”

1739

Now

Then

New York state assembly banned hunting of the heath hen, to save it from extinction. The species is extinct by the early 1900s.

1791

Now

ThenNew York city officials appointed Central Park Board of Commissioners to draw up plans for what is now Central Park.

1856

Now

Then

Yellowstone National Park is established.

1872

Now

Then

Chicago passed the first anti-smoke air pollution laws.

1881

Now

Then

First hydroelectric plant opened in Appleton, WI.

1882

Now

Great Lakes Compact ensured protection of lake waters from nonregions.

ThenCongress authorized the building of O’Shaughnessy Dam in Hetch Hetchy Valley, with fresh water diverted to dry California and west coast.

1913

Now

ThenThe first ethanol plant opened in Atchison, KS. The biofuel brand, Agrol, was sold throughout the Midwest with the slogan, “Try a tankful—you’ll be thankful.”

1937

What do you Think?

• Is environmentalism a new movement?

• How is today’s environmental movement different from environmentalism in history? How is it similar?

• How have the government and laws influenced environmentalism in history?