Activity 4.1 – US Environmental History and Major Regulations

The process of understanding the impacts of human activity on the environment is a long learning practice. There are new ideas that become present and scientific understanding that gets more developed. Over time some technological advances and laws and regulations get placed. Human activity is constantly changing and continuously growing. Great representations of human activity growing are the American conversation movement, the rise of environmental risk management, and social and economic factors creating sustainability.

The mindset that people had in the 19th century can still be recognized in modern times today. If water became unclean, then people would go upstream. If many trees got cut down, people would move to a new area with more trees. That was the mindset; of avoiding the problem because it was not affecting people yet. However, it didn't take long for them to notice the effects of that mindset. The U.S. population doubled in size and started to become more urbanized. That is when people became more alert to their wasteful practices. Crops begin decreasing due to soil infertility. Waste from mining and smelting along with forests became an issue. To make matters worse human diseases outbreak as they got exposed to chemicals. Inventions got built, like the steamboat and railroads that required fossil fuels. Contributing to being irresponsible with their use of resources. Regulations were few, and scientific understanding was still minimal. In wanting to achieve a growing economy, they viewed the advancing inventions as job opportunities, product expansion, and better social-well-being. To have a striving growing economy, they had to address solutions to the problems. The American conservation movement began. Science engineering, public health, and departments like the U.S forest service were invented and developed. Redefining the social contract between humans and the environment was established. There were now national parks and resource management was in government policy. 

The risk factors are far too dangerous for not having these major federal institutions. People began figuring out that being exposed to chemicals leads to becoming sick. It was now the question of what to do about it. Poor air quality increased respiratory disease, watery eyes, and it being unbearable to be outside for a long time. Due to the U.S. becoming more urbanized more roads were built. Now there was water pollution that became common. More roads meant runoff of oil, gas, and metals contaminating the water. It wasn't until the Cuyahoga River caught on fire that people realized the impact of polluting water. Acidic rain is a huge environmental issue that is caused by acidic gasses. It can happen by coal burning, which releases chemicals. Acid rain can be harmful to humans and the environment. Climate change is also a risk factor for people. A heat wave can cause an increase in death. Extreme cold weather can cause influenza causing an increase in death. That is why I believe; it is super important to have many regulations and acts passed to protect the environment. 

I do think growth happened when it comes to the knowledge of human activity's impact on the environment. Yes, there could be more effort in the substitution of products that cause more damage than good. Apart from that, there are regulations, and groups dedicated to helping the environment. It is now easier to learn and teach others about human activity impacts. Back when they didn't know much, they made their points through art. If not art, it was poems to make people see and hear the beauty of nature. To get across why it's worth protecting to stay beautiful. Overall, reading about how much we impact the environment just reminds me we can still impact it in a positive way. 

REFERENCE

Theis, T., & Tomkin, J. (Eds). (2018). Sustainability: A comprehensive foundation. OpenStax CNX.