Chapter 30 – Chapter 30 – New DirectionsNew Directions

1980-19981980-1998

Section 4 –Section 4 –

The Environment andThe Environment and

the World Economythe World Economy

The Environmental MovementThe Environmental Movement• Review: Who was the first President who said we should

protect our land and natural resources?• By the 1960s, concern for the environment was growing

strong.• Rachel Carson was a marine biologist. In 1962 she wrote a

book, Silent Spring. She said chemical pesticides (?) were poisoning our land and water. Her prediction of a future spring was:

It was a spring without voices. On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of robins, catbirds, doves, jays, wrens . . . there was now no sound; only silence lay over the fields and woods and marsh.

The Environmental Movement, The Environmental Movement, continuedcontinued

• Review: What do we call people who point out what they think is wrong in an attempt to fix it?

• A specific type of reformer began and were called environmentalists.

• These environmentalists called attention to many things:– Chemical wastes turning rivers into sewers– Factory smokestacks pouring fumes into the air– People dropping litter on the ground– Oil tankers in accidents, pouring oil into the sea – Gulf

of Mexico?

Waste in water; littering; Waste in water; littering; smokestacks; oil spillsmokestacks; oil spill

The Environmental Movement, The Environmental Movement, continuedcontinued

• Environmental Protection Agency – New cabinet department that President Nixon created in 1970 to help attack pollution.

• Clean Air Act Extension of 1970 – Also sometimes called the Muskie Act because of the role that Senator Edmund Muskie (see picture) had in drafting it.– First time their were standards for air pollutant

emissions (including cars)– First time citizens were given the right to sue

over pollution

The Environmental Movement, The Environmental Movement, continuedcontinued

• Clean Water Act of 1972 – fought water pollution in rivers and lakes

• Waste Cleanup Act of 1980 – created a superfund to clean up chemical wastes

• Local governments also took action:– Many required recycling (including Upper Dublin).

This reduces how much trash has to be buried or burned and slows down the speed with which we use our resources

– What has your township done more recently? 100% renewable energy (?); Integrated pest management (?); RecycleBank (?)

Opposition to Environmental ProtectionOpposition to Environmental Protection• Review: Who tried to get rid of all environmental

restrictions, saying that the overregulation of businesses cost businesses too much?

• Some say that environmental protection needs to be balanced against economic costs.

• Example: Movement to protect forestland in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest is opposed by loggers (?) who say forest products are important to our economy and restrictions could cost many their jobs.

Energy UseEnergy Use• Americans = 5% of the people on the earth.• Americans use >25% of the energy used on the

earth.• Environmentalists talked about this but until it hit

Americans in our pocketbooks, we didn’t try to do anything about it.

• Within 10 years of the 1973 oil embargo (?), fuel cost 4 TIMES as much as it did before the embargo. To cover the extra cost to them, businesses increased their prices to the consumer (i.e. you and me).

• Americans tried to use less energy:– Gov’t standards on mpg went up– Homeowners began adding insulation to homes

Energy Use, continuedEnergy Use, continued

• Since the 1970s, Americans have tried to find other sources for energy:– Many factories have switched from oil to coal.

What is the problem with that?– Nuclear plants produce about 20% of our

power. Problem?– Solar energy (?). Renewable resource (?).

Benefits vs. problems?– Wind (?), Geothermal (?), Hydroelectric (?).

Solar panels; Wind turbines; Geothermal Solar panels; Wind turbines; Geothermal power; Hydroelectric powerpower; Hydroelectric power

International CooperationInternational Cooperation• 1992 – Earth Summit – held in Brazil (?). Focused on key

problems:– Global Warming

• Since the 1980s, the earth’s temperature has been warming. What’s the problem with that? CO2 (?)

• Countries at the Earth Summit promised to lessen the amount of carbon dioxide they put in the air.

• 1998 – The amount of carbon dioxide US put in the air was still rising.

– Holes in the Ozone Layer• What is the ozone layer?• 1980s – scientists said that gases used in homes and

industries were creating holes in the ozone layer – aerosol cans, refrigerators, air conditioners.

• Nations agreed to phase out the dangerous gases.

Competing in a World EconomyCompeting in a World Economy• 1970 – foreign trade made up 10% of American

economy.• 1997 – foreign trade made up 25% of American

economy.• US companies compete with those around the world• US companies pay their employees more than in

most other countries many foreign products cost less than American

• This causes a trade deficit for the US. What is a trade deficit?

• US companies tried building more efficient factories• US companies tried using a competitive advantage

of quality (?)

Competing in a World Economy, Competing in a World Economy, continuedcontinued

• Tariffs – what is a tariff? Why would it be good? Why would it be bad?

• North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) – 1993, Congress approved this treaty with Canada and Mexico. Purpose was to get rid of trade barriers (?) such as tariffs.

• NAFTA created some jobs and most economists say that overall it helped the American economy.

• NAFTA hurt some industries – carmakers moved many auto parts factories to Mexico (?) and foreign countries do not have the same antipollution and labor rules (so?) that US does.