Women Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet

Dr. Roz IasilloChairperson, Science Department

Mother McAuley High SchoolSenior Adjunct Fellow

Robert Morris College

History of the Environmental MovementColonial EraPreservationist MovementAmerican UrbanizationConservationist MovementModern EnvironmentalismWhat can we do today?

Colonial Era1626 – Plymouth Colony regulates timber cutting1681 – William Penn decrees that 1 acre of trees must be left standing for every 5 cut down1698 - Massachusetts prohibits deer hunting from January-July1710 - MA sets up rudimentary coastal protection1862 – The Homestead Act

Preservationist Movement

Late 1800s – An Elite Movement (writers, artists, wealthy)Need to preserve the grand scenery and natural features of the unspoiled western landscapeRomanticized natureSet up the Natural Parks System

American Urbanization•1870-1900 The growth of the American city

Boston triples its population (500,000)New York more than triples (3.5 million)Chicago increases by 6x (1.7 million)Los Angeles increases by 20xBegin to see the first concerns about pollution

Conservationist Movement

Early 1900s: Extensive deforestationNature and the Environment are seen as exploitable resourcesNature is a Commodity

Modern Environmentalism

1960s & 1970s: Pollution (Air, water, later land) comes into focus

Human health concerns - public crisesPesticides and chemicals

Rachel Carson: Silent Spring

Government to the Rescue

1969 – National Environmental Policy Act1970 – Earth Day1970 – Clean Air Act1972 – Clean Water Act1973 – Endangered Species Act

1980s Anti-Environmentalism

Harms economic growthCurtailed environmental enforcementNatural resources are here for human exploitationEnvironmental Justice Movement begins

Environmental Agenda: 1990s-Now

Congress wanted deregulationDeregulation stalled in the 1990s and moved forward in 2000Global Issues: 1. Ozone layer depletion

2. Loss of Biodiversity3. Climate Change

Wangari MaathaiBorn in Kenya in 19401st woman to earn Ph.D in E. & C. Africa

in 1971Founder of the Greenbelt Movement ‘76In 2002 elected to ParliamentAssistant Minister for the Environment2004 Nobel Peace Prize

Margaret MeadLobbied for and organized the First Earth Day in 1970President of the North American

Nongovernmental OrganizationConcerned with the Environment

Coming of Age in Samoa

Leading Primatologists

Jane Goodall – Chimpanzee Gombe

Dian Fossey - Mountain GorillaKerasoke Research

Birute Galdikas – OrangutanOrangutan Research Foundation

10 Things I Can Do1. Lower your thermostat2. Reuse your water bottle3. Use low-flow faucets, showerheads, toilets4. Use energy efficient products5. Carpool

10 Things I Can Do6. Carpool or drive less7. Recycle paper, plastic, glass, aluminum8. Compost9. Bring your own bag to the store10. Plant a tree

If You Can Only DoOne Thing…Plant a Tree