AP US History AMSCO Guided Notes
8.13: The Environment and Natural Resources from 1968 to 1980
AMSCO Guided Notes
AP US History Guided Notes
AMSCO 8.13 - The Environment and Natural Resources from 1968 to 1980
Learning Objectives
- Explain how and why policies related to the environment developed and changed from 1968 to 1980.
I. Origins of the Environmental Movement
1. How did the modern environmental movement differ from the Progressive Era conservation movement in terms of scale and support?
A. Rachel Carson
1. What was the main argument Rachel Carson made in Silent Spring and why did it challenge American assumptions about industrial progress?
B. Barry Commoner
1. What health threat did Barry Commoner identify in the late 1950s and what political achievement resulted from his activism?
C. Paul Ehrlich
1. What was Paul Ehrlich's central argument in The Population Bomb and why did his most frightening prediction not come to pass?
II. Public Awareness
1. How did environmental disasters in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s change public perception of industry and technology?
A. Earth Day
1. What did the first Earth Day in 1970 reveal about the extent of public environmental concern in the United States?
B. Pictures from Space
1. How did the Apollo photographs of Earth from space, particularly 'Earthrise,' influence the environmental movement?
C. Environmental Activists
1. How did mainstream environmental organizations expand their influence during the 1970s and what strategies did they use?
2. What was the growth in Sierra Club membership between 1960 and 1970 and what does this reveal about the movement's appeal?
III. Government Environmental Protection
1. How did California's approach to auto emissions standards influence federal environmental policy?
A. Environmental Protection Agency
1. What was the purpose of the Environmental Protection Agency and what responsibilities did Nixon give it when he created it in 1970?
2. How did the EPA's budget and staff size change between 1970 and 1981?
B. Clean Air and Water
1. What did the Clean Air Act of 1970 authorize the EPA to do and what other major environmental legislation followed in the 1970s?
C. Wildlife Protection
1. What was the purpose of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and why was it called the 'Magna Carta of the environmental movement'?
2. What conflict emerged between preservationists and other groups over the Endangered Species Act?
D. The Oil Embargo and Fuel Economy
1. How did the 1973 oil embargo affect American consumer behavior and what government response followed?
2. How did fuel economy standards enacted in 1975 contribute to both environmental and energy goals?
E. Antinuclear Movement
1. What events and concerns drove the growth of the antinuclear movement in the 1970s and what were its effects?
IV. Backlash to Environmental Regulations
1. How did President Reagan's policies in the 1980s represent a shift from the environmental priorities of the 1970s?
Key Terms
Rachel Carson
Silent Spring
Paul Ehrlich
The Population Bomb
Three Mile Island
Earth Day
"Earthrise"
Wilderness Act
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Clean Air Act
Clean Water Act
Superfund Act
Endangered Species Act
emissions
greenhouse gases
climate change
antinuclear movement