Environmental History 55Incorporating a systems perspective into environmen-
tal management can be a challenge. It is often difficult
to predict the long-term or long-distance impacts of an
activity. Consequently, management strategies that focus
on one aspect of the environment can have unintended
consequences. For example, in the 1990s California de-
cided to require that MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether) be
added to gasoline to make it burn more cleanly, thereby
improving air quality. However, shortly after MTBE was in-
troduced, it began appearing as a contaminant in ground-
water (MTBE is toxic). Similarly, there is a constant debate
about whether wastes should be buried, thereby taking up
space and sometimes leaching to groundwater, or inciner-
ated, resulting in a variety of toxic air pollutants.
However, a systems perspective can also present better
solutions to some environmental problems. For example,
rather than spraying pesticides, farmers can eliminate nest-
ing spots for pests or import wasps that eat the pests. Like-
wise, rather than decide between burying or burning wastes,
we can consider strategies to minimize or reuse wastes.
In 1968, when the population of Earth was “only” 3.5
billion people, ecologist Paul Ehrlich published The Popu-
lation Bomb. In it he described the stress that such a huge
number of people impose on Earth’s life support system,
including global depletion of fertile soil, groundwater, and
other living organisms. Ehrlich’s book raised the public’s
awareness of the dangers of overpopulation and triggered
debates about how to deal effectively with population issues.
Ehrlich’s critics, in particular Julian Simon (1932–
1998), countered that technological advances outpace the
negative impacts of population growth. A decade into the
21st century, both sides of this issue have strong advocates.
Ehrlich continues to point out water, climate, agriculture,
and other global stresses, while many economists counter
that the collapse Ehrlich predicted has not occurred.The Environmental Movement
Until 1970 the voice of environmentalists, people con-
cerned about the environment, was heard in the United
States primarily through societies such as the Sierra
Club and the National Wildlife Federation. There was
no generally perceived environmental movement until
the spring of 1970, when Gaylord Nelson, former sena-
tor of Wisconsin, urged Harvard graduate student Denis
Hayes to organize the first nationally celebrated Earth
Day. This event awakened U.S. environmental conscious-
ness to population growth, overuse of resources, and pol-
lution and degradation of the environment. On Earthand contaminating human food supplies. Ultimately, the
book led to restrictions on the use of certain pesticides.
Around this time, the media increasingly covered envi-
ronmental incidents, such as hundreds of deaths in New
York City from air pollution (1963), closed beaches and
fish kills in Lake Erie from water pollution (1965), and
detergent foam in a Pennsylvania creek (1966).
Rachel Carson’s approach to the environment em-
phasized the value of taking a
systems perspective. A systems
perspective acknowledges that
changes or activities in one place
can impact environmental condi-
tions in distant places or in the
future. Further, these changes
can be difficult to predict and
may not be recognized until after
significant or irreversible damage
has been done. Carson’s example of a systems perspec-
tive was that pesticides intended to improve crop yields
could also kill other organisms. Since Silent Spring was
published, pesticides have been found around the globe,
including in the fatty tissues of polar bears, penguins, and
deep-sea fishes.Erich Hartmann/Magnum Photos, Inc.
,>V
iÊ
>ÀÃÊUÊ}ÕÀiÊΰÈÊ
Carson’s book Silent Spring heralded the beginning of the
environmental movement.systems
perspective A
perspective that
considers not just
immediate or intended
effects of activities,
but all of the impacts
of those activities in
other places or at
other times.