In recent decades, the environment has become a focus of intense national interest. Increasingly, individuals, organizations, and governmental entities have turned to the courts for resolution of environmental debates. Litigants in the courts must, however, clear the initial hurdle of "standing" to have their cases heard. In this article,…

Examines how the livestock reduction plan enforced by the Federal government in the 1930s resulted in drastically negative ecological, economic, and health consequences for the Navajo people. Describes manifestations of Navajo criticism and resistance. (GC)

Describes the contributions to deep ecology of Henry Thoreau, who advocated acting upon strongly held convictions; John Muir, who adopted a biocentric view of nature; and Aldo Leopold, who formulated an egalitarian ecosystem ethic. While deep ecology is moving toward a new vision of humankind's relation to nature, it has yet to coalesce into a…

Surveys media coverage of the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), concluding that there was a general lack of press attention to NEPA and that Congress constructed its own social reality with respect to NEPA in the absence of an agenda-setting role by the press. (GT)

States that the Frontier Myth has been used by rhetorical presidents to inspire audiences and energize policies. Investigates how Theodore Roosevelt linked the Frontier Myth to conservation policy. Demonstrates how he altered the myth, replacing the conqueror hero with a farmer hero. Concludes that conservation under Roosevelt's administration was…

Presents a historical perspective of the environmental movement in the United States, beginning with Earth Day, 1970. Profiles "environmentalists" and describes environmental activities, achievements with environmental reform, turning points, and proenvironmental legislation from 1970-90. (MCO)

For the past 33 years, since Theodore Roosevelt, then President of the United States, called the first conference of governors in American History to be held at the White House, the conservation of natural resources has been a national policy. The purpose of conservation education is to develop attitudes and ways of living which contribute to the…

Summarizes the origins and development of the conservation/nature study movement and the school camping/outdoor outdoor education movement. The author contends that the juxtaposition and blending of these two philosophies during the late 1960s resulted in a "quantum jump" which led to a new and different educational approach:…

Profiles Phyllis M. Ford, chairwoman of the Department of Park and Recreation Resources at Michigan State University. Examines background of Ford's support for special education, environmental ethic, and leadership development. Praises her writings and work at University of Oregon, University of Iowa, and Washington State University. (TES)

Presents a secondary lesson for high school students based on a controversial 1892 proposal in Congress to reduce the size of Yosemite National Park. Includes a map and petition signed by John Muir, the first president of the Sierra Club, which was formed to oppose the proposal. The lesson includes class discussion and activity suggestions. (CFR)

The key events and conditions that helped form and direct the evolution of the United States National Park System are presented in this publication. Information is organized into three sections. Part 1 is a brief introduction calling attention to the complexity of the National Park System's origins and designations. Part 2, the main body of the…

The impetus giving rise to U.S. outdoor education was composed of the organized camping program and educators who saw possibilities of using a camp setting to provide students with real experiences in the out-of-doors, while the major push in Canada came from the public's growing concern with the need for conservation of natural resources. The…

Explains the theory of noosphere developed by Soviet academician Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky and Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. States that this theory is based on a new morality concerning the unity of humanity and its responsibility for the fate of the planet. (GG)

Describes the development of environmentalism in the United States as presented in literary works and through prominent early American thinkers up to Earth Day 1970. (MCO)

Discusses the sacred bond between the cedar and the Skokomish people and tribal efforts to protect the cedar through treaties and court litigation. Describes how disappearance of the cedar is adversely affecting traditional education practices and the survival of traditional culture and ceremonies. (SV)