The Beginning of "Environmental Science" PDF

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See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323252034 The Beginning of "Environmental Science" Article · August 1995 CITATIONS READS 0 519 2 authors: Mossbah M. Kolkas Nehru Cherukupalli City University of New York - College of Staten Island City University of New York - Brooklyn College 59 PUBLICATIONS 69 CITATIONS 141 PUBLICATIONS 2,303 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE All content following this page was uploaded by Mossbah M. Kolkas on 18 February 2018. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. 整 糾 ま を 事 態 套 蜜 支 点 繋 ぎ き り 爆 撃 THE BEGINNENG OF ̀咽NVIRONMEN船L SCIENCE) ) D卿融QfGeology,掬o#yn College・ C踊鋤o軌N・Y j12JO and rfe Gγ海蝕hooJ 鋤e Cdy Univer卵笹w f拐33 W離2聴聞w % IV.Y jOO36 ABSTRACT: Pub匝VCmmental and academic ∞nCerus with envfronmental prch血s in the tst four decades have t,u航e found& 。on for a new branch of science ・・envfronmental science.. nased on the histoIical evolu。on of血e geoIogival and bioIogical activities on car叫the history of envirDnmental science is闘蛍‖nto four stages. During Prehistoric Age uving ∞mmuni。es fonowed肋s of nanITe Without human interven。on. Earty CiviIfzation Age is malked by the devehopment of drhizafious dies and altendr融xal envfronmen叫c脚m Etry civiHza。on reckoned the envfrormental crises as acts Of supematural for∞S with rdigious ∞nnOta'ions. Hooding of Nfle in Egypt waS a 軸m o軸on Re. Destructive acts of whd blown dust and sand were due to anger of God軌Cireck and Ro脚phitosopher㌻ Thales of hifetus, Xenophane心to。e. HPpocrateS Cicero' Stral)O (∞nturies before ChrisO recognized the IX)Wer Of nare and tried to explain natud phenomenaiferhaps the eahiest environmental nguhion ‑ enacted ‑ drring medieval ines. King Edward issued an order (1310 A.D.) not to bun bitunfrous coal as a substfute for wood becanse ∞al caused al txrme soOt and sulfur dioxjde. Birth of modern geoIogy in血e eighteenth and ninet卿th centuIies Uames Huttofty Wmian Sndth Charles脚and otherD brought better During血dustrial Age cities grow rapfty. Most serious哩on prcfoleus of hu脚Origin cxsound in and around u血and inchs。al ar掛Many environmental issues vrae addressed during this ine. h 1896 SePara血of househ。d solid waste Was requid by kxa肋in New urk Clty通tuted by C。on患Geonge Wing Comndssioner of血e Department of Street acaning (DSC)申nd ceean dumIing of trash" This is the ・埋n age" of waste reeyChog in New rm City同owever' drrfug und W封due to inortnge in Enviromental Age is the most re脚t Period durfug which thae was WOrid popuhion exp軸which ereated mgivr environ‑ mental prchleus.高E証ronmental science. WaS tXm' aS a disc恥e in nineteen se ′en。es. INTRODUCTION 正oos was血e孤d o蝕e C劇a∞騰and峡湾山肌血g ofthe冊・ try (the end ofdinusaurs) aJevin 1991)・ Dinosaurs (Fig. 1) Environmental science is considened a new issue 鵬u重ね血e御心帥弧加200 m皿00 y孤S狐d髄印細則 because of its viewpoints狐d orienta。on to gldbal prchlems with a blink in心e geoIogic eye. AIong with the dinosaurs. including air, land Water enerev and life. Pubfro and aca‑ most of ma血e phankton狐d she11‑fich died atx加sixty‑Six demic interests within the last few d∞ades have stimulated miuion雌S agO aJevin 1991)・ Some scien血融hieved the 血e birth of a new discipline known as enVironmental sci‑ ex血Ction was a reSult of complicated changes in血e climate ence. The componentS of血is science are nct neW They are and environment陣inberg and Shapiro 1980). In 1980, a derived from pre‑eXis。ng areas of the sciences such as biol‑ physicist by血e name ofLuis AIvarz r印med that血is ex血c〇 ogy. chemistry Physics・ and the geosciences. °on was caused by the impact of a gigantic asteroid aJevin 1991). The impact would have created a huge dust cIoud血at The history of the environmental science c狐be凋ivided covered the Earth. The earth.s environment was denied the into four mg直stages: 1) Frehistoric小山out hum狐inter‑ 鵬giving rays of sun. Photoeynthesis ceased・血us leading to vention), Z) Earty Civiliza。on Oow human popu鎚oh) 3) In‑ the dea血Of animals. The asteroid couision Caused a cata‑ dustrial Age Onereasing hunan popu融on・ using machines straphic envirormental impact on the earth. and abuse on血e envirorment), and 4) Environmental Age (Science and Goverrmen血terven。on of心e envirormental pleistcoene over皿1・・ was another natural environ‑ 陣0軌ems) ・ mental crisis.皿s ・・over則・・ was not an extenSive event compared to any masS ex血c。ons in血e g∞logiv reeord. Ifow‑ 1) He血的町ic Age ever, iti町oIvedchiefly very Lenge animals that existed in small popula。ons such as mammOths (Fig. 2) @鉦cer and Page In血e past without human interven。on all the liv‑ 1993). Some scien。拙beheve that血e Pleistceene ex血C。on ing comm皿ities deyed血e laws of na調re. Scientists b説eve resulted fron clima。c change or h皿血g ac。vi。es of early 血at life has existed for 600 mi11ion years or more. During 庇t峡正d of血e,血的ha触別訓餅狐m申請m岬S血 these communides. 血the Prehistoric age,巾ere are many Other varia‑ 。ons on the general theme of environmental factors which 血the g∞1ogic time scale the bre水s between geo‑ contro11ed ife on earth such as・ change in water chemistry' logic pcnds are often shoun graphicatry as horizontal lines voIcanic activity (emission of large anount Of sulfur and ni‑ cut血g ver。cal bars repreSen。ng 。me. Such representa。on trogen oxides) radia。on damage・ Or reverSals of the earth is on paper tends to make transi。ous from one age to another as magnedc polarity clean, atruPt Or CataS叩hic. Cine of血e mostわrupt tranSi一 No融e倣伽Geo/ogy伽d動血 桝e庇r Sc加CeS, V. 17' nO. 2・ 1995, P. 201‑209  THE BEGENNING OF ・巴NVENMENTAL SCIENCE Figm j. Dqic/ion qf批eγafcpS, Jast qf /he Ae謝0 鋤S Figwt: 2. Dqic寂肋qf庇胸o砂7‑th仏#eγ Q舞eγ 窃脚sa肌s,伽dり7・a胸部肌的Iastザ庇camivoγ0榔d新0‑ and Page 1 993). sa肌侮eγ 〔沸ceγ伽dPage 19兜)・ water supply grew more sophis。cated. Public water was first drawn from nearby rivers or shanow wdls. By the血ne of the Rom狐Empire, Water POllution was mederate and it was only l∞al. later, gOVerment§ finan∞d血e coustruction of daho‑ rate aqueduct aystems to transport water from remote sour∞S to growing ci。es. The most finous example known to us is the system of aqueducts constructed during血e Roman Em‑ Pire ( Miner, T 1991). Airpollution is not a new issue.血deed・ it is at least as old as civilizadon itself. The first air polludon q)isede profrably cx;C皿ed when early people discovered that a pcorly vendlated cave is not a gonl place to cock a meal. Problems of血e envirorment started to appear when血e populadon in‑ creased and hunan beings misused natural resources. Some I則Ple sta]唯d to血inkかut nat町e and its related prchlems hQPPing to丘nd logical solutions based on scien唖c evidence・ The ea血est civ丑izadons understord血e environ‑ ment as religious supernaunl f血.ces. The ancient Egypdan beneved that the stabirty of the environment is controued by two con鮎cdng powers which are epitomized ty Amon Re 血e god of nature and Seth, the god of p皿ishment促g. 3) Fig躍3.釣abiliiy〆 庇c乃vi70棚融: Jwo cOi鋤cIing pow‑ (Kemp 1989).珊e regular皿oeding of血e Nile river was seen e7招rt?印ifOmizedめ Amon Re (l班)脇e godげ肋WJt CInd as a gift from God‑Amon‑Re促g.3 ) to ensure the continuity Seth (万gh4)沈e god qfpmish棚nt. Based on初e amient of human life ( Strouhal 1992). Destructive act of windblown Eg)ptian believes誰00ding Q/ !he肋e was o g折かm God・ dust and s狐d q[hamsin wind) were due to anger ofGedLSe血 Amn Re cmd des!γ抑訪ve czcis〆 高雅めlown d跡t and sand 促g. 3). Auso, in th6 ancien=raditon of血e Egypdan wed‑ 鵬n d躍fo cznger QfGod Seth (Pho10gγ卿h加m Kem〆989)・ ding vcW血e grcom pledges to God Amon Re not to pollute 血e Nne (Fig. 4). Based on血ese rengious thoughts,血ey tried to maintain the fragile environment to satisfty their gods. 2) EarIy civihation Age The Eady Greek civiHzation attempted to create a rational mmans have always had some e髄ect on their envi‑ understanding of the wond. Some Greek geographers ac‑ cepted血e Nile皿ords as a res血ofscasonal raius in the Afri‑ rorment. Early civilizadons were originated a句acen=o riv‑ can interior. These attempts to r印lace supematural wi血sci‑ ers, lakes or oceaus, Ealy civilizadon of Eg)Pt develped en櫛c explanadons form血e basis of modem sciendfic tradi‑ along the Nile river. Mesqutamia civ址zadon started be‑ don.珊e ea.亜est foms of science were made血ough the tween the Tigers and Euphrates rivers and the血dus culture developed along血e Indus river in India. As civ址zadons appncation of mathematics and the experimental me血od in areas such as physics, Chemistry狐d bioIogy. developed cities came into being.珊e nodon ofa communal 202  KOLKAS AND NEHRU Fig躍4.加he ancient ndition Qf海E8yP ian we幼ng Fig鵬5・肋g Eん融I何g砂p70babめ, pγapOSed海かJ vow高he groom ple。ge再o God4棚扉ie m ,O POllute fhe ̀わc 脇闘tedpiece QfenⅤi′。鵬n′al pro,eCrion /egis/atio扉n 勅le River (P加tog7t]ph加m Kemp 1989J J310 (PhoIogγqh方em α脇nCelloγ 1927)・ Check philosophy began wi心血e Ionian schooI of Ifippacrates (100‑55 BC) was a physici狐and he 血inking. The founder狐d血e father ofthis p皿osophy was beheved that the physician s jdb was to help Nature restore Thales of Miletus (640‑546 BC)(Ctohau 1991). The Ionian∴血e balance if it had become dist町bed (Gohan 1991). He schooI wanted to understand the fundamental changes e珊b‑ Suggested studg叫g and understanding the envirormen[ be‑ ited by Na伽e狐d what cause舟山e supe臆cial rearrangements∴ CauSe hea皿can be i皿uenced ty the surounding conditions. 血at we recQgnize as change? Thales suggested that water Hppcerates believed that di鰹erent l∞ations give different was the basic element ofwheh all other things are composed. me{亜cal prchlems beca鵬each lacation has its own environ‑ Hebeneved血a血e ear血flcated in water and explained earth‑ mental problems. 薄霧豊諾器霊盤窪筈霊等‡ ci。。r。 (10643 BC) was 。 R。man Writer who be ter. He offded fossfls as evidence血at the earth s surface was∴ neved血a=he ea血itself is designed to sustain life, with the once sim血ar to血e composi。on ofmud. Iie believed a eyclic rain providing wapr and the winds providing air circula。on world view in which the ear血will eventually dissoIve back andrefres脆ent (Gbhau 1991). intowater (Gohau 1991). stralx) (64 BC ‑ AD 24) was a Roman g∞grapher Aristotle (384‑322 BC) realized血at there are nam‑ Who wrote in detail atrout ore d印sits and mining teehniques ral pr∞eSSeS that are consta皿dy changing to refom血e ear血in Spain (Gohau 1991)・ ife r印rted the importance ofusing and its surface fea血res.皿s bock ・・Meteorologica,・ described gOOd mining techniques and plans to keep the envirorment these prceesses in some deta皿. Aristotle understoed all con‑ Clean for hman use. 窪警護箪霊霊窪詣:発言謡 m。 W。S,e.T,融。n, it is 。usomar, ro See Greeee 0he matter upon which fom is being imposed) 3) the e臆‑ aS the source of in脚ectual fo叩dafrons that wo山d go on to cient (血e actua‖brce working on the matteD and 4)血e血al become血e source of inspiration for medieval Eurqpe. 請書岩POse for which血e new struct'∬e is crcated) By m。di。val 。m。S直.。Ilu,i。n h。d be∞m。 a Vtry 203 Fig肋e 6. Map sho晒煽れhe black虎a沈cam加m Ce 融/ Fig肋e 7. Diag協調助郷POint and m岬o肪so附でeS qfwa‑ Asia !o Euγape abo〃l J347.凡om /heγe j出郷Ca所ed dy s履タ 1eγ pOl庇ion (ノ錐eγ MillのT 1991) !0 77dyor ports QfE14r印e and Norlhe肌4殖a czbo! j352 The birth of mod鎖n geoIogy in the eighteen血∞n葛 4 明er Q伊Ceγ and Page J993)・ t叫y began with James Hutton (1727 ‑ 1797)劃d his wide r狐ging狐d revdutionary conc甲t of血e great geol〔格ical cycle. serious prd〕lem in some l∞atious. In England, peOPle beg狐 to use bitun血ous (soft coal) as an inexpensive substit山ie for Thtton was血e founder of modern unifomitarianism (the wcnd to heat their sh印s and homes. This bituminous ∞m‑ benef血a=he earth is su巾j∞ted only to uniform processes busted very ine鉦ciendy, ereating great quanddes ofairborne which means gradunl modification) (Gohau 199 1). soot and noxious su岨m dioxide. Between 1285 and 1310, Wi皿am (Str紬) Smi血(1769 ‑ 1839), Often regarded four goverrment agencies were established to study air po11u‑ don血at res山ed from shifting worrd to coal as the principal as血e father of historical geoIogy pIapOSed the principle of fuel. In 1310 King Edward I偶ig. 5) issued an edict prohib‑ fossil su∞eSSion. He stated血at each r∞k uut ∞ntained its i血g London merchants from using coal in their fumaces Characterisdc group of fossils館ohau 199 1). du血g s(asions of Pa血ament. He ordered a retum to the In 1844, Darwin pub雌hed his血e(調y Ofnatural se‑ practice of buming worx￨ Dea血was血e penalty for disotey‑ ing the King s edict. This was血e first dacumented piece of lecdon explaining the a心ility of populadons to change as血ey en竜onmental protecdon legisladon (O臆∞r狐d Page 1993). adapted in a new environment (Gohau 1991). One of血e most important environmental events in 3)血d鴫億ぬ暮Age 批s period was the black dea血, Where great masses of peaple died around the 1320,s. It began with the erapdon of血e The industrial revoludon began in England in the mid‑ 1700 s and apread to血e u‑ited States at about血e 1800 s. Plague in血e Gめi Desert Ovtongolia) and sprcad out through China, the MiddleEast and Eur餌re円ig. 6). The Black Dea血 The industrial revoludon develcped rapidly because of the CauSed by bacm which was transmitted from fleas to rodent Scien唖c Revolution.心this period cities were growing rap‑ to human. The uns狐itary conditions in E町OPe nOt Only en‑ idly in response to the industrial revdudon. Most series pol‑ hanced but propagated血e plague. By血e end of 1352, forty‑ ludon from hunan activities o脚町red in or near urban and industrial areas, Where large amo皿tS Of pollutants were con‑ three mmon peaple died. 「mis was about halfof the westem WOnd s population (O臆cer and Page 1993). centrated in small volumes ofair, Water, and so組. Some pol・ lutants oontaminated areas where血ey were produced. O瓜er The Scient脆c Revolution developed in the sixteenth PO11utants were carried by winds or flowing water to o血er and seventeen血centuries. In the mid sixteenth century, there areas without respeeting the state狐d national boundaries we were p血froatious of several bcx)ks containing accurate de‑ draw on maps. There were two sources of human po肌tion SCriptions and t劇u師ul illustration of aninals Plants and du血g血e industrial age伸g. 7): a) point sources such as the minerals as a part of血e envirorment. The most dbvious ch血ney of a housel the exhaust pipe of autombbiles or the Sciendfic Revolution of the seventeenth century was血e de‑ sewer pipes., and b) no叫roint sources such as po皿ants which velapments in mechanics and cosmoIogy ty Gall∞, Kq)1er, enter the air, Water, Or SOil from di坤ersed and often hard to Descartes and Newton. Isanc Newton (1642 ‑1727) was the identify sources a]ig. 7) (Mi11er,T 1991)・ fo皿der of血e new physics. He unl∞ked one ofna調re s great. est se(姉tS, gravity and how it applied to our enviromenl As population increased waste and human disposal (Gohau 1991). Benoit de Ma11let (1656‑1738) was a Flench increased. Based on United States Envirormental Protecdon naturalist. His main idca was that the sea level ke印s getting Agency (U.S.班IA)血e definidon of waste is ̀a material血at lower,血erefore, all terrestrial species came from marine an‑ may cause or significantly ∞ntribute to an incIcaSe in moト C錐調でS (Go血u 1991). ta]哩y or an increase in serious irreversible, Or incapacitadng 204  KOLKAS AND N巳HRU eases (filth diseases) such as typhoid feIVer Cholera and dys‑ reversible f11ness; Or POse a Sut)Stan。al or po帥tial h雅ard to entery which killed h皿dreds ofpcople (Walsh 1989).血1934 hunan hea皿cr血e environment when it is inprcperly treated・ 血e帆ited States Supreme Com stopped New Ydrk City from stored, tranSPOrted, dispesed of or otherwise managed; and con血uing its蝦an disposal ofuntreated refuse o噂lsh 1989). 血e characterisdc can be measured by a standardized test or reasonauly detected by generators of sond waste through their on the o血er hand, the industrial rev。u。on destroysd knowledge of their waste ( Be11andi 1988)・ 血e earth・s biogeachemical cycles by adding poisonous gaSeS 血1887 The New Ybk City solid waste configura‑ tion was as follows: 73% was dunped at sea・ 18% was used ro 刷I in血ore lines, 6% was land丘皿ed 3% was drmped in the river ( Walsh 1989). Figure 8 shows the garbagepiles in front of血e house of Mayor W皿狐L. Strong of New Ybrk City (1 894)飾rick s。eet, Manhattan)・ In New Yck City声1896 house hold sepa融m of s。id waste was required ty lcoa1 1av. Waste was s印arated into血ree componentS: aSh・ Pu‑ trescible garbage, and r調bish.皿s program waS ius血ted by CoIonel George Wiring伊g. 9)・ Commissioner of the De‑ parment of Street Cle狐ing a)SC)・ tO end cx}ean d調ping of trash. This period was ∞nSidered血e golden age, of waste recycling in New Yck City.血1900 the amount Of ga血ge generated, Per PerSOn amually in Now甑k Cdy was l・188 pounds, Of which 83% was ash (Walsh 1989)・ h 1917, The disposal ofNew York city s waste was perfomed t)y twO Private contractorS.皿e Dalley and Ivins companies were respOnSible for moving and disposal of au ash and rubbish to landfi11s in the Bro眼狐d Staten Island. In 19 18, The D狐ey and Ivins companies reached theirbreak‑ ing point because of the shortages in lalror and血e bad eco‑ nomic situation which resulted from Wndd War I.珊e de‑ parment of street cleaning @SC) tried to find狐O血er oom‑ pany to complete the jch・ but they could noしWith no o血er ap。ons, DSC crews txngan dunping wastaln vacant lots or sim恥left it a=he curbside or dunped it into血e nearest river. There we鳩platfoms, SPeeiauy ∞ustruCted so that cid繭S co血d dump their garbage directly into th e river @g. Fig鵬9. Colonel Gconge脇y.ing・ Co桝issioneγ QfJhe De・ 10). The con血uous dunping along with complete耽k of paγ鵬n母S融C‑eaning PSC, qfN研擁Ci頼γ桝‑ 皿e sanitary actious resulted in epidemics of waterfune dis一 ;a/ed j〃 j896 ho関e肋d separa/ion Qf JO胸部柳e加 CZ手 te桝pt to e毒ocean d朋解励gげ加がh・ Fig】m g. Pめ,ogγqph Qf伽C招碑"894): 7棚is庇rg Mcryoγ脇liam L. S鋤g ived・肋e ′he s′m 研 ll d Fig鵬jO. Photogrqz,h sho鵬初p痢he ca融布m pjcrJ gαbage・me DqaγmCn時S鵬 CJea励g mder GeoIge 伽的y勅 n 0 ′励Veγ during脇rld胸. J (1918)働oto‑ 脇r海(189卵ega所O Cle伽均CO郁雄ion耀e i/郁e訪肋 g埋)研。m Ko肌側めven 1 97礼 qf脇ck S reet (Pho解r即h力。m Kowe励ove肩972)・ 205  THE BEGENNENG OF ̀ENVIRONMENTAL SCIIENCE Severe StreSS On the earth s already strained life‑SuPPOIt SyS‑ tems. The PQP山ation can increase in two m雀ior ways: 1) linear gr恥血which mean血e population increases by some 丘xed amo皿t during each uut of血ne or 2) Expnential grow血 which means the pop血adon increases by doubling. The J‑ Shaped cuIve Of human papuladon shows exponential grow血 偶ig. 12). As the human population increases the pdlution level also increases. Pollution means any undesirable change in 血e characterisdcs of血e aiL Wat餌, SOil, or food血at can ad‑ VerSely a触t血e heal血of organisms. Most Iro皿tants are unwanted solid, nquid, gaseOuS Chemicals, or energy emis‑ Sions (excessive heat, nOise, Or radiation). After the血dustrial Revoludon, many e錦町tS WeIe made by state狐d local govemments to control air quality, but genera皿y血ese cndinances r捲血ated only smoky nuisances arising from the buning of coal. By the late 1940 s, however; SmOg‑Plagued Las Angeles began to mcke prngress in deal‑ ing with o血er kinds of air pollution. Since then, Califomia has led the way in enac血g s宙ct legishtion to control auto‑ Fig(m 」」. Diagγam Sho咽#O棚l paitern (tap) cznd脇e棚l mchile emissions ( Miller, S. 1993).氏deral law has more or 訪versio部7.呼,$ (bot/Om) 4 斬er MilleI; r j991). less tx3en medeled on血e pioneering exanple of Califemia. The first piece of federal legislation directed at air pelludon to血e amoaphere [such as carbon dioxide (CO2), Su血r diox‑ conロoI was enacted in 1955. This law provided funds for ide (SO2), Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and vdadle organic com‑ research on po11uted air by血e United States Pub血o Heal血 POunds (VOCs)]. Servi∞, and required that states be supplied wi血the t∞hni‑ Cal infomadon complied in that e鰹i巾(Mi皿er, S. 1993). 丁もmperat町e inversion or thermal inve重sion is ∞‑ Cuning in industrial areas a=ig. 11)( Miuer, T 1991). Some‑ In the mid‑1940 s more than 200 t胤sic chemicals dmes weather condi瞳ons trap a layer of dense, COOl air be‑ have been created for use膏n ki11ing inseets, Weeds, rOdents, nea血a layer of less dense, Warm air in an u血an basin or and o血er unde壷ed organisms. These chemical compounds V狐ey. In e鉦が, a Wam air lid covers血eregion狐dprevents known as ̀t鳩sticides (Carson 1962). Wi血out selection,血ese PO肌tants from escaplng ln uPWard皿owing air currents. pesdcides kiued in ects, birds and丘sh which resulted in dis〇 Usually血ese inversions last for only a few hours, but some‑ 億rbing the bio‑SyStem. 血nes血ey las for several days. me air po皿utants at血e gro皿d t)uild up to harm餌oreven lethal levcts. In 1948 a lengthy 血the summer Of 1960, There was a m砧or environ‑ 血ermal inversion over Donora, an industrial town in Penn‑ mental crisis of the national wild life OirdO which migrate to Sylvania皿ed 20 people and made 14,(ro inhal)itants sick. Tule lake in G址fornia. Most of血ese丘sh{a血g birds were In 1963 cides like London, Chicago, New Yck, and Pitts‑ burgh bumed la喝e amOuntS Of coal狐d heavy oil containing Su岨Ir inpurides, in power and indus血al plants and for apace heating. During winter such cides su鱈改姐from indus血al SmOg ∞usisdng mostly of a mixture of sulfu章・ dioxide, Sus‑ Pended draplets of sulfuric acid and a variety of suspended SOlidparticles.血New lb血City 300 people were ki11ed and 血ou ands were injured. This still ∞Curs in Los Angeles, Ca量i危r血a 4) Envirormental Age The world papulation has increased from 2.5 billion 血1950 to 3.5b皿on in 1990 (Miller, T 1991). Unless血e dcath rates rise sharply, the world populadon is prqjected to F鳴椴弓2" Diagram Jho鵬九履ped curl,e qfpasJ C埠)O彬ル more血an double to lO.8 b皿on by 204.5 and almost utple to /ial t仰γld pap諦ation g′。W/h肋毎7dyecdons /0 21の%eγ 14 billion by血e end of the next century 珊is will place MilleI膏1991).  KOLKAS AND NEHRU dead. Upon analysis. they were fo皿d to contaln insecdcide feeling of acute anxiety. When Carson published her bcbk, residues iden唖ed as toxaphene and o血er fetal chemical com‑ 血e scien髄c and professional communides considered the pounds (Carson 1962). The sciendsts fo皿d血at血e insecti‑ bc調k an oversimplification of the si uadon, POSSibly more丘c‑ cide狐d pesticide residues were fomed by retum irrigadon don血an fact. Viewed in血e histcrical perspective, Carson s 皿ow from hcavily sprayed agricultural lands. Because of the ideas were right and her bcxk has proved血at血e environ‑ POtenda皿y harmful e鉦臓ofpesdcides on wildlife and people mental prchlems are real and not丘ctions. Soon it became Congress passed血e Federal hs∞dcide, Fungicide, and Ro‑ PO皿ca11y expedient for legislator to fomulate s血cter air dendcide Act a7IIRA) in 1972. This Act required that all and water qunldy laws. In 1963,血e Clean AirAct was passed commercial pesticides must be approved by巾e Envirmmen‑ and also provided grants to the states for sho血g up their talProtecdon Agency (Ybsie 1993).血1988, Nadonal Acad‑ mcager control programs. emy of Science r印}rted血at血e pes血oide products had bex3n tested we11 by Fcnd and Drug Administration a7DA)・ Fct近 血1968 Clean Air Act established a prQgram tO regu‑ and Dmg Administradon found血at using of血ese pesticide late and contrd the emission of aiItrme PO皿tants. It af. PrOduces can∞r, genedc mutadons birth de蹄ts狐d ne脚O‑ fおted conmon ∞mPOunds such as cafron monoxide hy血O‑ logical damage in humans (Ybsie 1993). caIhous狐d sulfur dioxide emissions as wdl as direc血g the Surgeon General to study the e蹄沌Ofauto emission on heal血 In the 1960,s, conCem over deteriorating air and (Miller 1993).血1969血e Nadooal Environmental Policy Water quality gave birth ro血e飢Virormental movement. Act (N唖A) required that an environmental impact ases‑ Pu皿c demonstradons, television prngrams狐d such pop山ar ment be prepared prior to any federally丘nanced p巧ect. Some b(X)ks as Rachel Carson s Silent Spring (1962) heightened far血inkin g peaple realized血at血eir lifestyles con鮎cted with Pub血o awareness of the impact of human activity on血e envi‑ their insights about environmental quality; and血ey began調 rorment (Moran, Morgan狐d Wiersma 1980). Carson (Fig. make voluntary a髄ustments. They saw血e advantages of re‑ 13) described血e comecdon between exposure to various CyCling certain kinds of waste. chemicals and血e onset of life‑threatening diseases such as lel珪emia, aChing of limbs, insomnia, nervOuS tenSion, and Federal environmental policy ofthe 1970 s狐d carly 1980 s was designed to regulate all facets of po皿ution on a unifom national basis. Almast all血e states have followed 血e pattem of血e federal govemment. Mest sta健s have en‑ acted a legisbdve agenda for comprehensive envirormental proteetion and have combined preexisdng agencies or estわ‑ nshed new ones res工X)usible for pelludon control・ The state agencies are known by a variety ofnames such as D印artment of Environmental Conservadon (New Ybrk), D印arment of Natural Resources (Michig狐), and Envirolmental Protec‑ don Agency al血ois). Whatever血eir names, their funcdons are similar and share the responsibinty for pe皿ution cootrol with血e U.S. EPA in血eir respeedve states @ellandi 1988). In 1974, the U.S. RA drew up a classification scheme inIX)stng conStraints on future changes in air q皿lity. But批s prngram was not fully implemented until August 7, 1977, When President Carter signed圧nto law the Clean Air Act Amendment of 1977 (M皿er, S. 1993). 一皿The united States of America, One Of the most 血portant pieces of environmental legislafron was血e Water Polludon Contrd Act of 1972, nOW COmmOnly called the Clean Water AcしThis Act gave the U.S.唖A authority調reg山ate indus宙al and municipal dischanges into pul)lic sewer sys‑ tems and urface waters. The Clean W船r Act was provided with massive amounts of federal aid, apPrOXimately $ 40 bil‑ 1ion, tO municipalides for血e ∞nStruCtion of waste water ∞n‑ VeyanCe and mamen青SystemS. m 1974, Congress passed and the president signed the Safe mIking Water Act. Under Fig躍J3. Photogγ午ph q/ Rachel Carso研She Aeightened this law,血e U.S.RA is required to estabnsh and to update COn血uously, drinking water standers for public consump‑ pめIic a噺nme∬ Qft加i岬ac/ Qfh肋an ac′iviり) On !he cnvi‑ 青onmnt (Photogγqphfりm B7り0恵1972). tion O暁gner 1991). By血at dme血e ̀̀Envirormental Sci・ 207  THE BEGINNENG OF ̀ENVroNMENTAL SCⅢNCE ence,・ began to emenge as an independent branch in some 2) Estabnsh a priority挑t of abandoned or inactive hazardous colleges and schooIs. waste disposal sites for remediation (the Nadonal Priority Hst岬.], Published in 1982). In 1986 a fire at a Sandoz chemical warehouse in 3) Est拙sh a mech狐ism to detemine the aI叩Priate acdon Switzerland released large quan融es of Tbxic chemicals into to t狭e at abandoned or inacdve hazardous waste disposal the Rhine River, Which皿ows血rough Switzerland, Hance, sites (the National Contingency Plan INCP], Pul)1ished in Wtst Gemany and the Ne血erlands before emptying into the 1982, mOd睡ed in 1985, 1987, andpublished MArch 8, 1990). No血Sea. The chemicals ki11ed large nunbus of aquatic 4) Establish a system of liabifty for potendally responsible life, forced temporary shu血owns ofdrir血ng water plants and pa血es O)RPs, Pw唖shed in 1986) to cle狐uP, or Pay tO Clean commercial丘shing, and set back improvements in [he river s up, hazardous sites. water quality that had taken place between 1970 and 1986 The geoIogic. pr∞eSSeS have acted over a long pe‑ α皿er,T 1991). ( riod of dme to selecdvdy con∞ntrate emstal resources into The ptolic狐d legisladve commiment to clean wa‑ minable deposits.血United States and o血er co皿tries min‑ ter programs狐d clean enviroment was demonsmted when eral resources were extracted with little or no regard to the Congress overrede President Reag狐,s veto of the 1986 reau一 environmental prchlems. Uuregulated surface mining is de‑ 心ori祖don of血e Act s Constmcdon G ant Program. As a smcdve to血e environment. It causes erosion, landslides, result血e U.S. EPA published a list of contaminants that ac‑ which in return contribute to siltadon, flding and water cur in pul)血o water s叫Plies and that may merit federal r喝u‑ pouudon with acidic and toxic runoff (Desai 1993)・ By the 1ation. This list is required調mesh wi[h血e hazardous sub‑ late 1960 s,血e American ConglesS discussed this environ‑ stances speeified by血e Comprehensive Environmental Re‑ mental prdblems rela血g to mining. In 1970 Congress passed 血e Resource Recovery Act which include a National Com‑ 準肌Se劃d L近田りんt (C田畑・心of 1980 (Yb瓦1993)・ mission on Materials Policy (NCMP) to recommend mod旺‑ The late 1970 s血ere was a discovery of numerous cafon ofthe mining procedures to minimize waste. This re‑ abandened,皿COntrOlled sites where hazar(touS WaSteS had sulted in d過erent envirormental pr。blems, Which led Co叶 previously b{別dqusited in sound m狐ne事狐d where the gress in 1977 to pass the Surfate Mining Control and Reela・ wastes were po11u血g the air ea血, and gro皿d water. These madon Act O嘱gner 1991). sites include the Love Canal in Niagara Falls New Ydrk・ VAl‑ 1ey of血e Druns in KentuCky血e Stringfe11ow Acid Pits in Since 1945, atOmic weapons have been mass‑PrO‑ California, the Seymour Recyc血g Fac址ty in hdiana・ the duced and stackpiled by血e United states and fdrmer Soviet Pollution Abatement Servi∞S Site in New Ybrk, and many Union for mnitary defense puIPOseS. These weapons were others. Thousands of such sites t山oughout血e United States made皿der top seeret ∞n亜厄ons and were s調red at various pased an unaacepta朋e risk to the s∞iety In many of these sites. In world War II 1945, twO atOmic bombs one called ・Little Boy・・ drapped on皿rosh血a and血e o瓜er one ca皿ed cases the corporations or people respensible fdr. them were ・Tat Man・・ dropped on Nagasaki. Bo瓜Cides are l∞a陶d in 皿known, bankr岬t or perhaps no Ionger in existence or oth‑ erwise unavailあle to perfom remediation (Bellandi 1988)・ Japan.珊ese two bombs crcated a huge environmental crisis Congress reaponded to亜s alarming sit関心on by enacdng in biosystem masses where血ousands of peaple aI血als and 血e Compreheusive Environmen tal Response・ Compensation plants were kiued. m 1964・ President JoImSOn armO皿Ced a and Liability Act (CERCLA) in December 1980. CERCLA reduction ofuraniun and plutonium atomic weapons. In 1977・ was designed to resdve a11 the issues ass∞iated with aban‑ Congress created the U.S. Daparment of Energy @O早) to doned, un∞ntrOlled, inactive hazardous waste disposal sites. mange the country,s energy resources狐d to oversee energy CERCLA was inidally au血oriz{ねfor a丘ve‑year Period. There research and conservation. In 1989,血e lJnited States has was considerわle disagreement as to the e熊扇veness of the decided to cut back its prchcdon of nucle狐WeaIronS Which C囲調LA program during its first few ycars, an issue that has resulted in血e big tack of clcaning up血e nuclear waste left been addressed by several commenta orS. In 1985 and 1986・ behind as a res叫Of these production activides. In 1989, 血e exchange between Congress and血e administration over James D. Watkins (Secretary of Energy) amounced a cre‑ rcauthorizadon was tu心血ent and raged for mon血s. The de‑ ation of new cngani;姐don naned by the O飯ce of Environ‑ bate oulminated圧n血e enacment of the Superfund Amend‑ mental Restora厄on and Wiste Management a±M) to manage ments and Reau血orization Act of 1986 (SARA). T蘭ay, truly 血e cleanup at a11 DOE faci鎚es (U.S. D印artment ofEnergy 血ere are mechanisms emerging to regulate and ∞ntrOl all 1993). aspects of environmental pellution. CONCLUSION CERC￨A has four major oomponentS: 1) Establish a fund to pay for investigations and remedial Du血g血e prehistoric age, all environmental crises acdons at sites where血e responsible pardes can not be found were naturally ∝Cu町ing wi血out human inten喝ndon. or wi11 not voluntarily con巾bute (Supe血nd, Put)Hshed in 1982). During血e early civiliz証on age, POllution was mod‑ 208 i I ‑ ‑ KOLKAS AND NEHRU ‑ ‑ ︑ ‑ 釘a喰and locれ DESAI・ U. 1993 Moving the Ea血・ Greenwood Press, Westport, Conn∞dcuしエondon, 256 p. Wb血d population has increased fron 2.5 bimon in 班INBERG G. and SHAPIIro R., 1980, Life Beyond Ea血., i し l ′ 慨 略 し 山 九 紳 助 虻 ﹁ 1950 to 5.6 billion in 1995. As肌e popula仕on increased, WaSte Wi11ian Monow and Company; Inc. New Yb血, 464 p. and hunan disposal increased which res山ed in air, Water; GOHAU, G., 199l, A Hisrory ofGeology (revised狐d trans‑ 狐d soil po11ution. lated by AIbert V and Marguedte CarozzD. Rutgers Uni‑ versity press, New Br皿SWick and IJ)ndon, 259 p. 珊e industrial revoludon changed血e hunan rela‑ KEh偶J. B., 1989, Ancient Egypt. Routledge Co., London tionship wi血the environment by destrQ)心g the ea珊,s bio‑ 狐d New Ybrk, 356 p. geachemical cycles and adding poison to me biosphere. KOUWENHOVEN, A., J., 1972, The Columbia Historical Po巾ait of New Ydr, Icon Editions, rmrPer & Raw, The envirormental science includes many areas of Publishers, New Ydrk. Evanston, an Hancisco, Lon‑ knowledge ahout血e a血o印here, hydresphere, n血00phere, don, 550 p. and biosphere・ This means interactions among more than one IEVIN, H, 1991, The Ear血Through Tine, fourth edidon, 丘eld of science to understand血e prchlem狐d its soludon. Sa皿ders College Publiching, New Yck, 65 1 p. Mn J雇R, S., 1993, Hazardous Air Ponutants: Eny庇)棚汁 The term Environmental Science emerged in the 細I Science 7お初ology, VL 27, No. 10, P. 1994‑1997. mid 1970 s when血e govenments and scien血魅Worked to‑ MⅡ上玉R, T, 199l, Envirormental Science,血ird edidon. ge血er to血d solufron§ tO di鱈arent environmental prchlems Ⅵぬdswor血Publishing Company; Belmont, Califomia, Which threaten human life. 465p. MORAN, M., MORGAN, D., and WHERSMA, H, 1980, In‑ AC KNOWLED GEMENTS troduc瞳on to Environmental Science. Freeman and Company; an Fr狐Cisco, 658 p. Ⅵb w〇億d此e調廠e皿s 『)叩調血中的鍬重)重隣S OFFICER, C.. and PAGE, J., 1993∴ぬles of the Earth. Ox‑ Our thanks to m E. L. Savage Dqument ofGedogy Brcx:k‑ ford University press, New York, Oxford, 226 p. 1yn Co11ege. We also wo山d此e to thank Blanca Ching who STROUHAL, E., 1992, Life of the Ancient Egypdans. Uni‑ reviewed the manu§C】亘t and provided help細oomments. VerSity of Oklahoma Press, Nom狐, 279 p. U.S. Deparment of Energy; 1993, Environmental RestQra‑ REFERENC ES don and Waste Management丘ve‑Year Phn, Student E髄虫on,17 p. BELLANDI, R., 1988, Hazardous Waste Site Remediation WÅGNER, T, P, 1991, Hazardous Wdste Reguladons. Vin The Engineer s Per坤3Ctive, O,Brien & Gere Engineers, Nustrand Reinhold, New Ydrk., 488 p. 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