What is the best method of intervention when promoting a cause?
http://toxics.usgs.gov/photo_gallery/whitewood_creek.html http://www.123rf.com/photo_15443038_plastic-bottle-floating-on-surface-of-water.html http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/aalexander/nrdc_wins_gulf_dead_zone_lawsu.html
" In nature, nothing exists alone." - Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
"It is also an era dominated by industry, in which the right to make a dollar at whatever cost is seldom challenged.” - Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
"I long ago came to the conclusion that every day should be Earth Day or don’t bother going on with Earth Day at all. " - Doug Draper 1970
The best way to promote a cause through intervention is to create organizations for activists.
The formation of the Environmental Activist groups lead the people to be able and voice their opinions and force actions.
After WWI, chemicals and the production of weapons lead to extreme pollution of the
environment. There were many methods and ways to clean up the environment but
the best way was through the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) because they used
their contributors for a series of legal actions across the country to halt the
use of DDT spray. Soon, EDF’s efforts led to a nation-wide ban of the use of
DDT in 1972. Another act that greatly contributed to the clean-up of the
environment was the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), and the
Endangered Species Act (ESA). The CAA became a law in 1970 and established
emission standards for factories. The CWA (passed by Congress in 1972)
restricted the discharge of pollutants into lakes and rivers. And the ESA
(passed in 1973) established measures for saving threatened animal and plant
species. These laws succeeded in reducing smog, lake pollution and water
pollution.
environment. There were many methods and ways to clean up the environment but
the best way was through the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) because they used
their contributors for a series of legal actions across the country to halt the
use of DDT spray. Soon, EDF’s efforts led to a nation-wide ban of the use of
DDT in 1972. Another act that greatly contributed to the clean-up of the
environment was the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), and the
Endangered Species Act (ESA). The CAA became a law in 1970 and established
emission standards for factories. The CWA (passed by Congress in 1972)
restricted the discharge of pollutants into lakes and rivers. And the ESA
(passed in 1973) established measures for saving threatened animal and plant
species. These laws succeeded in reducing smog, lake pollution and water
pollution.
The social, political, and economic conditions leading to pollution caused the formation of protests and Environmental Activist groups.
Economic
Protestors state that because of the growth of economics and industry, the air in cities is hazardous to breath and is unsafe. Infants and children can be particularly
vulnerable and can sustain lifelong damage at exposures that have no impact in adults. In 1962 Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, alerting the world to the unintended consequences of chemical pesticide use. Her concern was the rampant use, and often overuse, of insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides in the post-World War II world. Not confined to agricultural fields, these products leached into ground water, rivers, lakes, and the food supply.
Protestors state that because of the growth of economics and industry, the air in cities is hazardous to breath and is unsafe. Infants and children can be particularly
vulnerable and can sustain lifelong damage at exposures that have no impact in adults. In 1962 Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, alerting the world to the unintended consequences of chemical pesticide use. Her concern was the rampant use, and often overuse, of insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides in the post-World War II world. Not confined to agricultural fields, these products leached into ground water, rivers, lakes, and the food supply.
Political
After long sit-ins and protests againts the pollution of the environment, President Richard Nixon signed in the National Environment Policy Act of 1969. This reassured citizens that the people of the political force were infact making and enforcing acts to try and improve the environment. BY seeing and learning that the President was creating acts to help the environment, citizens felt that the environment was going to turn around.
After long sit-ins and protests againts the pollution of the environment, President Richard Nixon signed in the National Environment Policy Act of 1969. This reassured citizens that the people of the political force were infact making and enforcing acts to try and improve the environment. BY seeing and learning that the President was creating acts to help the environment, citizens felt that the environment was going to turn around.
Social
The not so fuel efficiant or eco-friendly vehicles of the 1970s lead many people to see how much our environment was being polluted. Many citizens of the United Stated decided to use the subway or simply ride their bike or even walk to work or school to help reduce the amount of emissions going into the atmosphere. But still people needed their cars to drive out of town or if their work was on the other side of the city, so green house gasses and emissions were still sent into the atmosphere.
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/this-horse-is-better-than-most-1970-cars/
The not so fuel efficiant or eco-friendly vehicles of the 1970s lead many people to see how much our environment was being polluted. Many citizens of the United Stated decided to use the subway or simply ride their bike or even walk to work or school to help reduce the amount of emissions going into the atmosphere. But still people needed their cars to drive out of town or if their work was on the other side of the city, so green house gasses and emissions were still sent into the atmosphere.
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/this-horse-is-better-than-most-1970-cars/
Protests and Activist groups have grown with time in order to change Social Policy.
Historical Connection
US as a World Power
During the Spanish American War, activist William Jennings Bryan served as a private in the Nebraska militia. He eventually became colonel of the Third Nebraska. After the war, Bryan became a staunch supporter of the Anti-Imperialist League and protested the proposal for the U.S. annexation of the Philippines, declaring that his support of the war had been purely in the name of freedom. The colonialism he saw in this act contradicted the very values which the war
was supposed to challenge.
US as a World Power
During the Spanish American War, activist William Jennings Bryan served as a private in the Nebraska militia. He eventually became colonel of the Third Nebraska. After the war, Bryan became a staunch supporter of the Anti-Imperialist League and protested the proposal for the U.S. annexation of the Philippines, declaring that his support of the war had been purely in the name of freedom. The colonialism he saw in this act contradicted the very values which the war
was supposed to challenge.
Progressive Era
The Environmental Protection Agency conducted surveys to test the eye sight of people traveling in airports. At these stations, measurements of visual range (the maximum distance at which an observer can discern the outline of an object) were recorded. The following maps show the amount of haze during the summer months of 1970, 1980, and 1990. The EPA then submitted their finding to websites and magazines to show and aware the citizens of the United States of the direction our eye-sight would be going if the pollution continued.
The Environmental Protection Agency conducted surveys to test the eye sight of people traveling in airports. At these stations, measurements of visual range (the maximum distance at which an observer can discern the outline of an object) were recorded. The following maps show the amount of haze during the summer months of 1970, 1980, and 1990. The EPA then submitted their finding to websites and magazines to show and aware the citizens of the United States of the direction our eye-sight would be going if the pollution continued.
World War I
On April 27th 1970 (the first Earth Day ever) young high school protestors fight against the Union Carbide Plant in Welland, Ontario - that was, at the time, on of the most notorious air pollutors in the region. Doug Draper, the student wearing the gas mask and holding the sign saying; " If you aren't [art of the solution you are part of the pollution." was allowed to leave his class to picket in front of the filthy plant that was, at the time, giving jobs to hundreds or townsfolk.
"By filthy, I mean that all the while I was growing up in Welland in the 50s and 60s, you could look over in the direction of this mill and see the clouds of brown smoke rolling out of Union Carbide’s huge stacks, and forming a streak of air-borne garbage that stretched across the horizon for as far as the eye could see." said Doug the day of the protest. Eventually the plant closed down after some years and a very substantial amount of pollution. Doug began to write about and inform many people of environmental disasters such as Love Canal and waste in Niagara River. But still, the pollution from the Union Carbide Plant eventually would lead to even more pollution around the world.
"I long ago came to the conclusion that every day should be Earth Day or don’t bother going on with Earth Day at all." - Doug Draper
On April 27th 1970 (the first Earth Day ever) young high school protestors fight against the Union Carbide Plant in Welland, Ontario - that was, at the time, on of the most notorious air pollutors in the region. Doug Draper, the student wearing the gas mask and holding the sign saying; " If you aren't [art of the solution you are part of the pollution." was allowed to leave his class to picket in front of the filthy plant that was, at the time, giving jobs to hundreds or townsfolk.
"By filthy, I mean that all the while I was growing up in Welland in the 50s and 60s, you could look over in the direction of this mill and see the clouds of brown smoke rolling out of Union Carbide’s huge stacks, and forming a streak of air-borne garbage that stretched across the horizon for as far as the eye could see." said Doug the day of the protest. Eventually the plant closed down after some years and a very substantial amount of pollution. Doug began to write about and inform many people of environmental disasters such as Love Canal and waste in Niagara River. But still, the pollution from the Union Carbide Plant eventually would lead to even more pollution around the world.
"I long ago came to the conclusion that every day should be Earth Day or don’t bother going on with Earth Day at all." - Doug Draper
Roaring 20s
On January 14, 1922, 54 sportsmen met in Chicago to discuss an issue of common concern: the deteriorating
conditions of America’s top fishing streams. Uncontrolled industrial discharges, raw sewage, and soil erosion threatened to destroy many of the nation’s most productive waterways. At the same time, the country’s forests, wetlands, and wilderness areas were quickly disappearing. The group decided to fight against water pollution and named it Izaak Walton. Initially formed as a “federation of angling clubs,” the Izaak Walton League of America soon broadened its goals in defense of outdoor America. The group acomplished few small acts of cleaning and helping the environment but, unfortunately, the group began having large influences and many group memebers until about 90 years after they first formed. Still, even though not large, the group of men fought and protested against the dumping of waste into forest or wetlands and cleaned up as much possible pollution they could.
On January 14, 1922, 54 sportsmen met in Chicago to discuss an issue of common concern: the deteriorating
conditions of America’s top fishing streams. Uncontrolled industrial discharges, raw sewage, and soil erosion threatened to destroy many of the nation’s most productive waterways. At the same time, the country’s forests, wetlands, and wilderness areas were quickly disappearing. The group decided to fight against water pollution and named it Izaak Walton. Initially formed as a “federation of angling clubs,” the Izaak Walton League of America soon broadened its goals in defense of outdoor America. The group acomplished few small acts of cleaning and helping the environment but, unfortunately, the group began having large influences and many group memebers until about 90 years after they first formed. Still, even though not large, the group of men fought and protested against the dumping of waste into forest or wetlands and cleaned up as much possible pollution they could.
Great Depression and New Deal
Although Oklahoma agriculture had been in the "dumps" for a decade, signs of the Great Depression emerged only in 1930 as a drought hit the region. This coincided with the opening of the East Texas oil field, which created a petroleum glut and caused rapidly falling oil prices and extensive layoffs. By the end of 1930 Tulsa and Oklahoma City formed unemployment committees. The economy reached bottom in the winter of 1932-33. Joblessness probably exceeded three hundred thousand, out of an urban population of around eight hundred thousand. Rural Oklahomans, who numbered 1.5 million, saw farm income fall 64 percent in the 1930s. Tenant farmers made up more than 60 percent of the farming population. Citizens of Oklahoma began to argue and do some protesting against the high rates of unemployment and the conditions in which they were living because of the severe outcomes of the Dust Bowl.
Although Oklahoma agriculture had been in the "dumps" for a decade, signs of the Great Depression emerged only in 1930 as a drought hit the region. This coincided with the opening of the East Texas oil field, which created a petroleum glut and caused rapidly falling oil prices and extensive layoffs. By the end of 1930 Tulsa and Oklahoma City formed unemployment committees. The economy reached bottom in the winter of 1932-33. Joblessness probably exceeded three hundred thousand, out of an urban population of around eight hundred thousand. Rural Oklahomans, who numbered 1.5 million, saw farm income fall 64 percent in the 1930s. Tenant farmers made up more than 60 percent of the farming population. Citizens of Oklahoma began to argue and do some protesting against the high rates of unemployment and the conditions in which they were living because of the severe outcomes of the Dust Bowl.
Today's society shows that the best way to promote an environmental cause is so produce environmental activist groups to make and enforce acts.
The Environmental Protection Agency has been enforcing new acts such as the Shore Prevention Act and the Oil Pollution Act. The protests and the activist groups still bring attention to terrible scenarios and lead to the formation of the acts and the ability to enforce the acts. Today there are even more protest groups and activist groups against almost any act of pollution that will harm our home. Pollution may never cease as long as humans will live, but with the help of Environmental Activist groups, we can come close.