Right of Way

Case 4: Environmentalism

Environmentalism is a political and ethical movement that seeks to save, preserve, and protect the natural environment from human abuse. The ideology behind American environmentalism can be traced back to the 19th century work of authors like Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Bartram, James Audubon, Henry David Thoreau, and John Muir who urged readers to appreciate and respect the natural world. In 1962, marine biologist and nature writer Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, a treatise on the dangers of soil, water, vegetation, birds, and wildlife contamination with chemical pesticides. The book received enormous public interest and a strong reaction from the federal government, which launched a study of the possible long-term effects of DDT and other pesticides.

Silent Spring is frequently cited as the catalyst that inspired the environmental movement and culminated in the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970. California has some of the most stringent environmental laws in the nation, and became the first state to set limits on vehicle emissions of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. Over the next few decades, federal and state governments established a flurry of agencies and passed numerous pieces of legislation to prevent water pollution, regulate toxic substances, control hazardous waste, and protect endangered animal species.

On display in this case are documents that highlight the work of environmental activists whose ideologies and activities encompass a wide range of topics and concerns, including a historical view of the environmental movement; the protection of whales and other sea life, mountain wildlife, and forest lands; and relationships between race, class, gender, and environmental issues.

Case 5, City Planning, is the wide tower towards the center of the gallery.

• 1

  Brochure, "What happens when you join Jacques Cousteau in his most important venture?"Zero Population Growth of Los Angeles, Inc. Collection

• 2

  "World of Greenpeace," circa 1983Zero Population Growth of Los Angeles, Inc. Collection

• 3

  Brochure, "America's Natural Wealth," 1982Zero Population Growth of Los Angeles, Inc. Collection

• 4

  John Muir, The Mountains of California, 1911F 866 M95

• 5

  "The Sierra Club: A Guide," 1989QH 541 S54 1989

• 6

  Form Letter, "S.O.S. Wildlife Campaign," circa 1982Zero Population Growth of Los Angeles, Inc. Collection

• 7

  Pamphlet, "Ecofeminist Perspectives," 1987Susan B. Nelson Collection

• 8

  Newsletter, "Race, Poverty & the Environment," April 1990Susan B. Nelson Collection