4.1 – US Environmental History and Major Regulations

What exactly is science? Science is the examination of structure and functioning of physical and biological things. One of the goals of science is to discover the simplest form of an explanation for enormous and very diverse complexities of life. To achieve their goals scientists perform experiments, collect data, and analyze their research to conclude their findings.Science is not all facts though, a fact is an something that is definitely certain to be known, to have happened, and is 100 percent true. A hypothesis is a proposed explanation from the occurrence of an experiment that was conducted. However, it is always possible for a hypothesis to be refutable. And then there are theories which is a broader statement that refers to a set of explanations, laws, or rules. Theories are usually supported by large bodies of observational evidence. What exactly is science? Science is the examination of structure and functioning of physical and biological things. One of the goals of science is to discover the simplest form of an explanation for enormous and very diverse complexities of life.SThe most recognized "fathers" of science to this day are Nicholas Copernicus (1473 - 1543), William Gilbert (1544 - 1603). Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642),  William Harvey (1578 - 1657), and last but certainly the most well known Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727). But this is an environmental science class, not just science, so we are studying the environment more closely. The broad goal of environmental  science isto research nature, and to explain how it may possibly be changing periodically over time.clusions. The most recognized "fathers'' of science to this day are Nicholas Copernicus (1473 - 1543), William Gilbert (1544 - 1603). Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642),  William Harvey (1578 - 1657), and last but certainly the most well known Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727). But this is an environmental science class, not just science, so we are studying the environment more closely. The broad goal of environmental  science isto research nature, and to explain how it may possibly be changing periodically over time. When we study nature, we are focusing on biodiversity. Biodiversity can be broken down into three categories. The first category of biodiversity is genetic variation. In almost all species, no two individuals are just alike. What I mean by that is that the change in their DNA will cause every individual to be different from the other. However, there are some exceptions and that being species that are asexual. The second category of biodiversity is the richness of species. What that means exactly is referring to is the number of different species that live in one ecological community or in a specific area like a park or forest. The last category of biodiversity is the richness of communities. What that is, is the variety and dynamics of ecological communities on larger scales such as seascapes and landscapes. Unfortunately there was a lot of economic damage done to our ecosystems before people started to take the issues seriously. It was not until 1891 when president Benjamin Harris passed the first National Forest Reserves, which started the revolution of trying to preserve our land. The following two decades were also monumental in the history of environmental research preservation, due to Theodore Rosevelt’s and Woodrow Wilson’s presidencies. It was not until the time period between 1945 and 1970 where legal legislation came together to analyze the issues that we were facing. This was the start of an environmental revolution. American lawmakers and ordinary people were now pushing harder than ever for the state capitols and courthouses , but also for the freeways and riverbanks. Two of the  most important acts passed in American history were the 1867 mining act and the 1872 yellowstone park act. The United States environmental laws started to really originate both on the first Earth Day, which was April 1970, and the so-called environmental decade of the whole 70s. Another important environmental act that was passed is the 1957 Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. These acts were all passed in order to prevent air pollution in our biosphere, however we also had acts passed to protect  water, those being the 1948 Federal Water Pollution Control Act. All of these acts were passed and led by the democratic administration. Sadly though, we did not pass a law until 1970 that stated that the FWCA required federal agencies to prepare and conduct surveys to prove the damages of the “environmental impact statements”.