Application #3: Profile a Figure in U.S. Environmental History
Section 1. Describe an important figure in the environmental history of the U.S.
David Brower was an important figure in the environmental history of the U.S. The reason David Brower was so persuasive about thinking of the environment in the U.S was because of his need to preserve the environment for his generation, and for others. This can be seen in one of his famous quotes, “Let the mountains talk, let the river run. Once more, and forever.” Bower created this environmental movement that the United States needed at the time and has had a long list of impacts since. The man truly did everything.The first organization we learn Bower became executive producer of was the Sierra Club from the documentary A Fierce Green Fire. Bower promoted awareness by expressing conservation issues to society through newspapers, radios, etc. He also founded Friends of the Earth and Earth Island Institute. By being a part of our owning these organizations he helped influence and develop areas such as national monuments, parks, and seashores. Specifically redwood national park, dinosaur national monument, and cape cod national seashore. These were just a few of his several organization but he had many environmental protection acts. Browers motivation was never to gain more fame or become more noticed. He had a true passion for our earth, he saw our earth's beauty and potential. In an article about David Ross Bower, posted on November 1, 2019 by encyclopedia, a story about David's childhood is told. The article explains how david would take his blinded mother out in nature and would serve as her eyes. I believe this is part of the reason David was so motivated to preserve our earth.is because he wanted everyone to be able to see that beauty. David was also a mountain climber having climbed Yosemite Valley. He knew in that moment that he needed to help preserve this earth as well. He carried out those messages in books, in organizations, and throughout his life until he died.
(In the video David Brower gives a powerful speech on the environment impact future generations need to want to leave on the environment instead of the ones they are leaving)
Section 1 (additional): Choose a song, painting, drawing, sculpture, film, graphic novel, animation, etc. that represents the person, event, or policy you are describing
This painting is of the Rocky Mountains and taken from Wikipedia. I chose this painting because I believe it shows the beauty David wanted society to see and goes with the quote he said, “Let the mountains talk, let the river run. Once more, and forever.” In the picture, the mountains speak anthems as their continuous and you cant see the end. Just like David did not want us to see the end of the earth and to preserve it for future generations. This picture shows the beauty of life before technology and economics got in the way. This is the type of living we need to go back to or practice more.
Section 1 (additional): Include a 2nd person in your post and explain how the 2nd person is related to the first one you chose.
John Muir and David Brower were both environmentalists who shared similar beliefs. In fact John Muir created the Sierra Club in which David was executive producer. David carried out the same dream John had. David pushed for the Wilderness act in which focused on the beauty of our earth. This is similar to the idea we learned about in class, in which John muir who advocated for presentation of scenery and spirituality of wild place. This is why John Muir was motivated to protect our earth. He contributed to thinking about the environment in the U.S when he founded the Sierra Club. The Sierra Club fought against many environmental threats such as the dams in the Grand Canyon and Yosemite National Park which we learned about in the Fierce Green Fire documentary. As mentioned when talking about David he climbed mountains. Although John Muir didn't climb mountains he was just as much an adventure as he traveled according to John Muir Biography posted by the Sierra Club, “His travels took him to Alaska many more times, to Australia, South America, Africa, Europe, China, Japan, and of course, again and again to his beloved Sierra Nevada”. He inspired society and other environmentalist like David to conserve the earth and see, hear, and become aware of what was going on in our environment. He wanted others to experience nature the same way he did and that wasn't through destroying it but instead being with nature and spending time in it. He wrote about these experiences and David Muir also wrote books.
(This image taken from flickr.com shows John Muir being in nature and observing its beauty which was his belief that nature was spiritual)
Section 2. Describe an event or policy in U.S. environmental history that is relevant to the person described.
David Brower created the friends of the earth organization in 1969. The organization was put in place because at this time environmental threats were rising in the United States threats. Companies were overproducing and dumping the chemical/toxic waste in clean water sources. The fuels burned from overproduction were polluting the air. Every aspect of citizens lives was affected, even homes because the toxic waste seeped into the grounds and spread. Pollution wasn't the only issue in the U.S during the time, there was deforestation and nuclear technology all which was increasing climate change. The Friends of the Earth organization was designed to focus on the environment, create a sustainable environment, and inform citizens. According to the Friends of the Earth environmental organization website, members of the program “recognized the need to change lifestyle and consumption patterns”. The organization helped protect the environment while also allowing citizens to recognize their own affects. The organization still continues to exist and works with the environmental issues today by addressing environmental problems and creating solutions through interventions and awareness.
(In the Image taken from the Friends Of the Earth website is their website homepage. Here is where there's information on the whole organization)
Section 3. Describe a second event or policy in U.S. environmental history that is relevant to the person described.
David Brower played a significant role in pushing for the 1964 Wilderness act to be passed. This act is similar to the friends of the earth in the sense that it was created to protect the earth but for more reasons besides pollution such as logging and mining, according to scholarly article National Parks and the 1964 Wilderness Act. During this time, the U.S society's relationship with the environment was strictly focused on how they could economically benefit from its resources instead of preserving them. As we have learned in class the extraction of the earth's resources through logging and mining have negative effects. The habitats for animals are lost because of deforestation. The pollution from mining contaminates the air with heavy metals. Carbon dioxide emission increases. When David Brower was pushing for this act to be official, he wanted to protect our only natural source we have from human activity. Eventually with the help of David and many others, President Lyndon Johnson signed the act. The act aimed towards preserving the land for what it was, not making it into something else. According to the same article mentioned earlier National Parks and the 1964 Wilderness Act, “The bill established the National Wilderness Preservation System to protect natural resources by increasing the number of national parks, forests, and soon, lakeshores. Not only did this bill make the process of protecting national wilderness areas easier, it also proved that the country and its president acknowledged the importance of these areas in relation to environmental health and human wellbeing.” We can only take so much but we can't replace it so we need to preserve it and that's the message this act spread. Leaders of higher power started taking on roles of saving the environment as well after the act was passed by creating new national parks and forests. The relationship David Brower and John had are the fact they both recognized the beauty of the earth for more than its economic value. David even said himself, “ wilderness adds quality in roadside scenery. Wilderness lets a place have a beyond to it. Wilderness symbolizes the freedom to choose what kind of terrain you want to look at, or hope someday to enter or to save for your children to enter”.
(This picture was taken from the national park service website in which shows Denali National Park protected by the government and wilderness act)
Section 4. Describe how this figure, and the events / policies, affect the life of people in Keene, NH.
Without the wilderness act and friends of earth organization there would probably be more species endangered. We would see this affect in Keene New Hampshire as keene has a lot of nature trails and parks. There are several state parks in Keene which we would see affected from deforestation and pollution if acts were not in place. For example, Otter Brook State Park in Keene is a place for activities, swimming, and observing wildlife. This state park wouldn't be nearly the same without policies in place. The swimming water may be too polluted with chemicals. This could lead to disease outbreaks in animals and humans. The wildlife could drastically decrease and the space for activities could become waste lands. The Otter Brook stores fresh water for the City of Keene and prevents from flooding. Flooding could wreck houses and schools etc. These policies put in place affect how people in Keene, nh and ensure for a healthier, better lifestyle if their followed.
Wow, that painting is so beautiful! I'm really struck by it - I had to follow the link and spend a few minutes looking at it at a larger scale.
ReplyDeleteI think it's really interesting that the painting has a lot of people in it. I understand from the wikipedia page describing this painting (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rocky_Mountains,_Lander%27s_Peak) that it reasonably depicts the Shoshone people at the time.
In many ways, this painting seems to starkly contrast with the Wilderness Act. The Wilderness Act protects wilderness, which is defined as "an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is absent." Given that there is no place in the U.S. where man (or woman) have been absent - what does the Wilderness Act mean for those people who once lived there?