On September 25, 1890, President Benjamin Harrison established Sequoia National Park, making it the second national park in America. Situated in the middle of California, this large area of mountainous land is famous for its groves of giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) trees, which includes a subsection known as the Giant Forest, named for the fact that it contains 5 out of 10 largest trees in the world by volume. As the park was created to protect these giant sequoias from logging, it made history as the first national park formed to protect a living organism. Because it was established so early in the national park process, U.S. Army Cavalry troops were assigned to protect the park for its first twenty years, and it didn’t become a popular destination to visit until national automobile travel increased in the late 1920s. A century later, Sequoia is one of the most well known national parks and it has successfully preserved a landscape that resembles the pre-colonial Southern Sierra Nevada.
The idea of air conditioning was created by Willis Carrier, it started with the need to cool down printers for the ease of producing newspapers. From this invention even more complex models of air conditioning that could be used to keep larger spaces cool started to come about. As these came about people were not the most accepting at first but once they began to realize the possible benefits of having air conditioning it became a marketable product. Post war, the 1950s was the boom of popularity of having air conditioning in homes. This revolution of homes became so prevalent that now homes are more likely to have air conditioning than garages. This invention of the air conditioning competed with the solar home and eventually won the race allowing for the U.S to be the only place that uses air conditioning at such a high level, the amount of energy used for air conditioning here is greater than anywhere else. Though solar energy may have been more environmentally friendly in the economic race it lost.
"In 1850, there were about 150 documented glaciers in this area of the Rocky Mountains. Most were still there when the national park was established in 1910. Maps of the glaciers in 1968—surveyed by airplane by the USGS—counted 83 ice-and-snow bodies with areas greater than 0.1 square kilometers. Today the number of ice bodies is 25." -https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/Glacier
This connects really well with Cole's Essay on American Scenery as it showcases another issue we now have with the "sublime" disappearing.
This law was introduced by Representative John F. Lacey before it was signed into law by President William McKinley. The main purpose was to implement civil and criminal penalties for those who violate the new violations. It aimed to protect wildlife and plants by prohibiting imports, exports, sale, and purchase of illegally hunted animals or acquired plants. This also tried to prevent introduction of foreign species of plants and animals into federally protected areas. Later in 2008, timber protection was added to this act with an amendment which targeted illegal logging and products being made from those materials. This ties in because we discussed Roosevelt and others seeing nature for its beauty. And, how they wanted it to be appreciated and protected. Here is where actions began to take place. Although timber and forest protection was not added until the next century, I thought that these acts were better than nothing regarding preservation efforts in order to scare people away from over-consumption and hunting in America. In my opinion, penalties are the most effective way in discouraging deforestation and other behaviors many people do for money.
Boston was founded in 1630 by English Puritans fleeing religious persecution. The settlers originally lived in Charlestown but moved to the Trimountaine peninsula due to the lack of freshwater near Charlestown. The settlers then renamed this area Boston after the area they came from in England. On top of this, some of the preindustrial industries of Boston were shipbuilding, whaling, and fishing. As with most early established towns, these places relied heavily on what was available locally.
The St. John Wood Working Company, originally named Fox and St. John, opening in 1853 to match the heavy demand of the fast-building city of Stamford. The name was changed to Hoyt and St. John, then Hoyt, Getman & Judd. The company was stationed at the canal dock where they were able to load boats with their productions for transport around the city. As owners changed and the company got bigger, the manufacturing and mercantile segments of the business were separated, the name Hoyt was dropped, and St. John Wood Working Company was the last name to apply, run by Getman & Judd until 1965. The company was so large that it employed 150-200 men and supplied wood all over New England, and largely into New York City.
Frederic Edwin Church was a 19th century painter who participated in, and was a major contributor to, the Hudson River School movement of art. Church was Thomas Cole's star student and he led a second generation of the movement following Cole's death. In his painting we see the iconic Niagara Falls, which were regarded as one of the greatest natural wonders in the United States at the time. We can see a visual representation of the beauty and splendor of the falls, for which Thomas Cole valued them. Not only is the magnificence of this wonder depicted in its size and the power of surging water, but so too is its beauty in the vibrant colors, the refreshing mists, and the unifying structure of the horseshoe shape. Lastly, the brightness of this painting exemplifies the transcendental-like offshoot of the Hudson River School known as luminism. The illuminated wonder suggests that this natural example of splendor is a heavenly oasis for one to be closer to God.
In 1871, the largest nesting of Passenger Pigeons ever recorded in the United States took place in central Wisconsin. An estimated 136 million pigeons gathered over a 850-square-mile area. It was reported that there were so many in the trees-- sometimes 100 nests in one tree-- that entire trees would collapse due to the weight. Pigeon hunters would storm breeding grounds and cut down trees in order to capture the birds. In 1947, a monument celebrating the Passenger Pigeon was erected in Wisconsin's Wyalusing State Park. The monument's plaque reads "This species became extinct through the avarice and thoughtlessness of man." Aldo Leopold spoke at its dedication, saying "We have erected a monument to commemorate the funeral of a species. It symbolizes our sorrow. We grieve because no living man will see again the onrushing phalanx of victorious birds, sweeping a path for spring across the March skies, chasing the defeated winter from all the woods and prairies of Wisconsin. Men still live who, in their youth, remember pigeons. Trees still live who, in their youth, were shaken by a living wind. But a decade hence only the oldest oaks will remember, and at long last only the hills will know."
Yellowstone was the first National Park to be created in the United States. This park marked the first of its kind to persevere nature in such a way where people could enjoy it. Yellowstone was a way to preserve the amazing features of nature from being destroyed without keeping people away. This was an important stage in environmental history because it showed how nature and be saved and enjoyed for more than a commodity.
Developed by Amos Bronson Alcott and Charles Lane, the Fruitlands Transcendental Center was a commune in Harvard, Massachusetts where transcendentalists lived and gathered to share their ideas. Residents of this community engaged in a vegetarian lifestyle, used no artificial lighting at night, bathed in unheated water, and lived their lives with as little man-made technologies as they could. Ralph Waldo Emerson visited this community when it was established and predicted that it would not last very long. This prediction was correct, the center closed down after its first winter due to difficulty producing enough food for the community without the use of farm animals.
In an effort to limit the contamination of the source of the city of Newark's drinking water, the city restricted any upstream disposal of industrial or animal waste. However as the city's industries took off towards the 1880s, the pollution into the Passaic River could not be stopped. Like other cities we have studied, as a result, the city had to find another source of clean drinking water due to unchecked industrial practices.
During the late 1800s and early 1900s, birds became a pinnacle in fashion as wealthy women would have bird feathers and taxidermied birds on their hats. The popularity of the hats led to many bird populations reaching extinction or near extinction. This forced politicians to pass laws for bird conservation, and many environmental groups also pushed for the conservation of these birds. This is still relevant today because the relentless mass hunting of exotic bird species shows society's desire to do something, and worry about the consequences later. This is because of the mindset that natural resources were inexhaustible.
Toward's the end of the 19th century, the slaughterhouses that were stationed throughout San Francisco began to receive backlash over how close they were to large residential areas and the environmental harms they were causing. People did not want to live anywhere near slaughterhouses because of the terrible stench that was caused by the constant slaughtering of animals. People believed that the slaughterhouses that were close to residential areas were a contributing factor in the variety of diseases that were plaguing large, overpopulated cities in the 19th century. For these reasons, government intervention soon followed to answer the calls for change. In the late 1860s, "San Francisco passed a series of laws that first banned slaughter from certain parts of the city, and ultimately established a particular, finite space for killing and keeping of animals that would become known as Butchertown" (Robichaud,4)
In 1869, the Louisiana Legislature passed a law that essentially monopolized New Orleans slaughtering companies under one corporation. As a result, hundreds of small, private butcher shops were driven out of business. The new monopolization was alleged to improve the quality of production and meat of these butcher shops, because they were previously deemed unsanitary. The local butchers were rightfully furious with this new law, because they were prevented from making earnings, and they believed the law went against the privileges and immunity clause of the Constitution. This case was ultimately brought to the Supreme Court claiming it was a violation of the 14th Amendment; the Court, however, ruled against the slaughterhouse. This case proved that the United States was shifting toward an increasing centralized government. The case also indirectly accounted for an improved food regulation process because having the slaughterhouses under one company would allow for a more thorough, safe food inspection.
Dubbed the McQueen Plant, the Golden Gate Recycled Water Plant was the first of its kind in the state of California. It irrigated the park, and created lakes, brooks, and other artificial water features. Prior to the construction of the facility, the city used raw sewage to irrigate the park, and residents began to complain about the smell. A central location for the plant was chosen in order to make it easier to transport the water to the entire parkland. Production of the plant peaked at 750,000 gallons per day in its initial years, which was less than its goal of 1 million per day. The plant remained in commission until 1982 due to high expenses, and the park was left to rely on groundwater. The facility has since been repurposed as the Urban Forestry Center for the Recreation and Park Department, and in 2018 a new facility was scheduled to be built, and its completion is scheduled for this year.
Beginning in the 16th century, Europe had experienced a firewood shortage, causing them to lose warmth, food, and their homes. These struggles were enough to drive the poorer class of England to travel to the Northeast of America to what, at the time, seemed like an endless supply of forest. Although they were new and terrifying, the forests of Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont had eventually been cut down in half. This firewood was a necessity, and the settlers were participating in strenuous amounts of work, especially compared to farming in England. Between 1500 and approximately 1850, they had gotten comfortable with cutting down trees, and started their new lives as farmers. They transformed the dark, untouched, virgin forests to bare farming land, and used it to build homes and raise other resourceful species of animals. The North American Forest Commission estimates that today, there are two thirds the amount of trees as there were in 1600, however, the expansion of the english farmers to the northeast allowed for one of the most significant farming advancements in American history.
From 1860 to 1870, San Francisco's population grew exponentially causing an increased concern over the city's sanitary situation. By the mid 1860s, slaughterhouses in San Francisco began to be pushed from the city center by residents and local government agencies such as the SF Department of Health due to their foul stench and new scientific evidence suggesting that environmental factors might be a source of disease. In 1868, a group of butchers purchased land along mission creek, far from the city center. The creek and ocean tide underneath these slaughterhouses acted as a natural sink that would carry away offal, blood, and other byproducts of the butchering process, into the San Fancisco Bay causing a great deal of pollution.
In 1918 a new deadly flu arose that was eventually labeled a pandemic. This flu caused by an H1N1 virus, was first seen in the spring of 1918 in military personal. As WW1 was occurring, the crowded military camps and constant traveling acted as the perfect environment for this flu to develop and spread. An estimated 600,000 deaths were recorded in the U.S., with 50 million deaths worldwide.
Hundreds of years ago buffaloes roamed all parts of the country in great numbers. As explained in The Ecological Indian, extreme overhunting of hurds led by Euro-Americans and Native Americans occurred, dropping the buffalo population significantly. By 1833, buffaloes no longer roamed the land to the east of the Mississippi River. Mass killings occurred to obtain enough meat and fur to keep up with the demand brought by the capitalistic society of Euro-Americans. Now, buffalo and bison can only be found in western states like Colorado, frequently roaming on protected land in efforts to protect the species.
In the early 1830s, there was evidence of mass production lines in Cincinnati where teams of men would systematical disassemble a hog corpse for its pork meat. By 1837, a team of 20 men could sufficiently slaughter 620 pigs in 8 hours. Cincinnati was dubbed "Porkopolis" until Chicago took the lead in pork production in 1862.
With the rise of meatpacking, Chicago quickly came to the forefront in terms of the major meatpacking industry. Chicago was a perfect place for the meatpacking industry because of its central location and easy access to other major cities through the train systems going through the city. Three major companies took over the industry, Nelson Morris created the Union Stockyards (a major meatpacking plant), Philip Armour, whose system was an inspiration for Ford’s assembly line, and Gustavus Swift, who invented the refrigerated railcar. Each of these inventions or innovations paved the way for Chicago to take over the meatpacking industry. They processed more than 13 million livestock a year in the years leading up to the depression. Not only did this revolutionize the meatpacking industry it also created a lot of jobs. This all relates back to the environmental history aspect because of how harmful the rapid growth of the meatpacking industry was for the way we consume meat.
In 1883, Mrs. D.A. Lincoln's cookbook "Boston Cook Book What to do and what not to do in cooking" is published. On pages 262-263 Mrs. Lincoln describes several ways to cook pigeon, most likely passenger pigeon. Obviously, this cookbook did not really contribute to the extinction of the passenger pigeon, but it is interesting to see exactly how this food item was prepared in everyday homes. This cookbook seems targeted to the common cook, not fine establishments, and its recipes were probably employed well before the publishing year of 1883. These recipes illuminate the place passenger pigeon had on the common man’s table as a vital source of food, not just for sport.