Download Environmental Laws and Treaties

Environmental Laws and Treaties
1910-1939 By: Jonathan
Friedman
Historical Context/Time Period
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Theodore Roosevelt is president
Roosevelt’s Big Stick Policy in Latin America
Opening of the Suez Canal
William Taft becomes President
Woodrow Wilson becomes President
The Progressive Era
18th Amendment prohibits alcohol and 19th Amendment gives women's right to vote
World War I, U.S. and Allies Win against Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire
Warren Harding becomes President
The “Roaring Twenties”, the Harlem Renaissance and the “Golden Age of Prosperity”. People
are very rich and wealthy
Calvin Coolidge becomes president
Herbert Hoover becomes President
Stock Market Crashes
The Great Depression
The beginning of Fascism in Europe and Asia
FDR’s “New Deal” policy and Fireside Chats
The Beginnings of WWII in Europe
Weeks Act
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Was introduced and signed into law
by Teddy Roosevelt in 1911
Weeks Act- allows the Forest Service
to purchase land at on navigable
streams as apart of the National
Forest System
This act also acquired land as
national forests
Many years later, this act acquired
many pieces of land in the Western
U.S.
The act recommended lands to be
purchased under the National Forest
Reservation Commission- Secretaries
of War, the interior, Agriculture, and
two members each from the house
and the Senate.
Clarke-McNary Act of 1924
• By 1920, over 2,000,000 acres had been
bought by the Forest Service expanding the
National Forest System
• An amendment to the Weeks Act allowed the
purchasing of forest land for timber and
stream-flow production
Public Health Service Act
• At the turn of the century,
many U.S. Urban areas were
suffering from poor
sanitation
• Was created in 1912 which
gives the government
authority to investigate
water pollution
• As more and more people
moved to cities, it became
crowded and many
problems such as poor
water, bad sanitation and
hygiene were created
Ecological Society of America
• In 1915, Ecologists form the
Ecological Society of America
• The American Association for the
Advancement of Science (AAAS)created the Ecological Society of
America
• Aimed at focusing on every
organism including the
environment they lived in
• It also unified the Science of
Ecology, creating research,
communication between
ecologists, and applying
ecological information towards
environmental problems
• There are 10,000 members
worldwide
National Parks Service Act (Organic
Act)
• This act created the National
Park System and National
Park Service in 1916
• This was created due to the
lack of organization of U.S.
national parks
• The National Park Service
gained responsibility of 14
parks and 21 national
monuments
• It was the Park Services job to
protect the land, scenery, and
wildlife of the U.S.’s national
parks
Migratory Bird Treaty Act
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In 1918, this act protected migratory birds
and restricted the hunting of them
Treaty created by the U.S. and Great
Britain in 1918
It was later signed by Mexico, Japan, and
the former Soviet Union
Migratory bird- a bird that reproduces
and migrates within or across
international borders during their life time
This Act made it illegal to kill, hunt,
capture, take, or steel any Migratory Bird
MBTA programs work under the MBTA’s
amendments
836 birds are protected under this act and
58 of these birds are legally hunted for
game
Migratory Bird
Conservation Act of
1929
• Protected bird’s habitat, resources, made their
environments safe by preventing pollution and toxins
from reaching their food supplies and water
• It also authorizes the protection and development of
migratory birds’ lands and preservations
• Provided sanctuaries or peaceful lands for these
birds
• The Migratory Bird Conservation Commission also
allowed the purchase of land for birds
• Provided resources and maintenance of the land
purchased
Taylor Grazing Act of 1934
• Regulates livestock grazing on public lands.
• The Federal management of public grazing lands
• The last major part of public lands managed by
the government
• Its purpose is to use grazing lands in a wise
manner by developing and improving the land to
protect the livestock population
• Districts of public domain lands were established
and were used for homesteading
Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 (cont.)
• The Executive Orders of Franklin D. Roosevelt
in 1934 and 1935 gave the power to the
Secretary of the Interior to regulate grazing
districts, the leasing of land, charging fees,
improvement projects, and agreements with
grazing landholders
• The Division of Grazing was created under
this Act, but the agency failed and was
ineffective
Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act of
1934
• Requires duck hunters or waterfowl hunters
to buy a federal Dutch hunting license
• The Migratory Bird Conservation Act
provided $ 7.8 million towards the
protection of birds, but was not enough
• The Bird Hunting Stamp Act- provided more
funds towards bird sanctuaries by having
hunters buy a stamp for their hunting
licenses
• The funds from these permits goes directly
towards waterfowl research and land
purchases of wildfowl refuges
• Dust Bowl storms begin in the Midwest
Soil Conservation Act
• In 1935, created Soil Conservation/Erosion
Service
• Agency is involved with soil erosion problems
• Had many soil surveys throughout the U.S.
• Discovered many conservation problems such
as “soil salinity control” (“Soil Conservation
Act”, pg. 1).
• Use to and still does map problems of soil
erosion and other similar problems
• Has computer databases for science research
such as pesticides
• The Wilderness Society is founded
Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act
of 1937 (Pittman-Robertson Act)
• Federal Aid for the Wildlife Restoration
Act places federal tax on gun and
ammunition sales
• Imposed an excess tax on guns and
shells to get more funds from hunters
• Funds from the tax are used for wildlife
research and protection
• The Migratory Conservation Act,
Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act, and
the Pittman-Robertson Act created the
most effective conservation plan ever
recorded
• During this time, the idea of the
“greenhouse effect” is founded by
Professor Glen Trewaha
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act
of 1938
• Regulates consumer foods, drugs, and
cosmetics
• Originally called the Food, Drug, and
Insecticide Organization in 1927
• Allows federal inspections of
manufacturing plants
• This act also regulates insecticide use on
food with support from the E.P.A.
• Gives the authority to the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) which looks at the
safety of food, drugs, and cosmetics
• The (FDA) is an agency apart of the
Department of Health and Human
Services
Works Cited
(2009). “The Weeks Law.” U.S. Forest Service History.
http://www.foresthistory.org/ASPNET/policy/AgencyOrganization/weeks_law/index.aspx Accessed on October 15, 2009.
(2009). “Weeks Act.” Absolute Astronomy.com. http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Weeks_Act Accessed on October 15,
2009.
“About the Ecological Society of America.” Ecological Society of America: esa history. http://www.esa.org/history/ Accessed
on October 15, 2009.
(1999). “National Park Service Act.” The Environment: A Global Challenge.
http://library.thinkquest.org/26026/Politics/national_park_service_act.html Accessed on October 15, 2009.
“Migratory Birds & Habitat Programs: Migratory Bird Treaty Act.” U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
http://www.fws.gov/pacific/migratorybirds/mbta.htm Accessed on October 15, 2009.
(2009). “Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929.” ENCYLOPEDIA.com. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G23407400188.html Accessed on October 15, 2009.
Thompson, Gale (2005-2006). “Taylor Grazing Act (1934).” Environmental Encyclopedia.
http://www.bookrags.com/research/taylor-grazing-act-1934-enve-02/ Accessed on October 15, 2009.
“Soil Conservation Act.” The Environment: A Global Challenge.
http://library.thinkquest.org/26026/Politics/soil_conservation_act.html Accessed on October 15, 2009.
“Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration (Pittman-Robertson).” U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/lps52835/federalaid.fws.gov/wr/fawr.html Accessed on October 15, 2009.
Saundry , Peter (2007). “Federal, Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, United States. March 9.
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Federal_Food,_Drug,_and_Cosmetic_Act,_United_States Accessed on October 15, 2009.