Business Ethics and Corporate Governance, Second Edition

HISTORY OF ENVIRONMENTALISM

Over the last century, many activists, writers and policy makers have debated about the environment. Since the advent of the Industrial Revolution, human activity has taken an increasingly heavy toll on natural resources. The natural balance has been distorted owing to the over-dependence of mankind on the environment for the sake of small gains, and a lack of foresight. In the United States, as early as the turn of the 20th century, the importance of natural resource conservation led to the establishment of National Parks by President Theodore Roosevelt’s administration. Later, the human health risks posed by pollution raised much concern during the 1960s. Slowly the concept of environmentalism evolved as attitudes ...