Age of Ecology Flashcards
The space race
Sputnik 1 - USSR was sent into space on October 4 1957
Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space
Neil armstrong - july 20th 1969 - most watched TV event
- first time humans took photos of our planet, shows how small we are, just a tiny sphere in a massive galaxy
we only have one earth, we need to take care of it and protect it
Gaia Hypothesis
formulated by James Lovelock
all living organisms interact in a way that creates a self-regulating system within the environment.
earth is a giant spaceship
Bioamplification
when toxins are amplified within the food chain
Lake erie
Filled with algae blooms, the lake was the smallest out of the 5, and shallowest
it was susceptible to eutrophication - build up of nutrients, less oxygen
lake was pollouted by human population
Cuyahoga River
stained red because of all the toxic chemicals in it
it lit on fire because of the flamable waste in it - 1969, burned for half an hour, start of the environmental legislation
Population Bomb
in 1968, Ehrlich predicted that we would either poison the earth or run out of resources
our populaiton is growing, we consume more resources
Who was Barry Commoner?
1971
commoner first introduces the idea of sustainability
the economy needs to develop the laws of ecology
he was the first person to point out that pollution and waste harshly affected the poor.
Environmentalism
Mending human impacts of the environment
a social movement focused on a concern for nature
humans are part of it, we are interconnected
comes from the ‘system of thinking’ if you change one part of a system, the other ones will be damaged and affected.
the atomic bomb
start of concerns of nuclear testing.
testing happened in nevada, where we first discovered that we are capable of destroying or poisoning the earth
by 1958, there had been 400 above gorund tests on atomic and hydrogen bombs.
there was a great fear of bombs in the general population.
What was the babytooth survey?
in the span of 12 years, they investigated the levels of radioactive material in kids’ baby teeth
strongtium 90 is chemicaly simmilar to calcium, but can be absorbed by the body.
- they found that levels of strongium 90 increased 100 fold between 1945 and 1953.
this test contributed to the shift of bomb testing, it moved underground.
What is Green Peace?
the first campains were against nuclear testing. organised a blockage on the peace arch in Bc, 7000 people attended.
got lots of attention by sailing a ship to try and stop a bomb.
Environmental radicalism
canada was a very conservative country, didn’t like change
lack of protest culture in the 60’s, but when baby boomers went to university and americans moved up to Canada, protests became more popular. - protest culture
what is STOP?
Save Tomorrow Oppose Pollution
- founded in 1970, co-founded by Mary Van Stolk
not called tomorrow foundation for a sustainable future.
What were Barry commoner’s 4 laws of ecology?
Everything is interconnected
everything must go somewhere
nature knows best
there is no such thing as free lunch
