The Environmental Movement has become a blanket term incorporating a diverse range of scientific, social, and political movements that address environmental issues. Environmentalists (activists within the movement) lobby for the sustainable management of natural resources and taking care of our natural environment, both through changes in public policy and changes in individual behaviour. The Environmental Movement has become, relatively quickly, a significant international movement represented by a huge range of organizations and interests.
Although evidence of humans having concern for – and taking care of – their natural environment dates all the way back to the earliest human settlements, the roots of the modern Environmental Movement in the west began to build momentum in the 19th Century when preservationists such as John Muir and writers such as Henry David Thoreau pursued an agenda of preserving natural resources for human use and exposing the consequences of humans’ environmental negligence; consequences such as disease, air pollution and water pollution.
Environmental concerns grew steadily in the west in the 20th Century, notable milestones being an appreciation of the effects of radioactive fallout from Nuclear Weapons tests, discovery of the impact of chemical use on the natural environment, incidents of mercury poisoning, oil spills, and academic studies into the environmental effects of rapid population growth. All these concerns seemed to crystalize in the late 1960s when the first photos of Earth from outer space were taken by astronauts, showing humans for the first time just how small and fragile our planet really was.
In 1972, the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment brought representatives of multiple governments together for the very first time to discuss the state of the global environment. This conference led directly to the creation of government environmental agencies around the world, which in turn has led to greater media coverage of the issues. This increased public awareness (in conjunction with ongoing advances in environmental science, ecology and technology) has subsequently led to previously niche ‘Environmental Movement’ topics – such as the anti-nuclear movement, ozone depletion, global climate change, acid rain, genetically modified organisms, deforestation, recycling, clean water supply, industrial pollution control and sustainable development – all firmly entering the public consciousness as issues that need to be taken seriously to ensure the ongoing survival of both the planet and the human race.
To learn more about the Climate Change debate, jump to Chapter 49: Climate Change – content to follow
To learn more about Planet Earth, the only home humans have in 2014, jump to Chapter 50: Earth – content to follow
To learn more about efforts to thrive without completely stripping our planet of its finite natural resources, jump to Chapter 51: Sustainable Development – content to follow
