The ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES (1968-1980) [APUSH Review Unit 8 Topic 13] Period 8: 1845-1980

Summary

In this video, Heimler's History delves into environmental and energy policy developments in the US from 1968 to 1980. The segment emphasizes the challenges faced by the US due to its reliance on Middle Eastern oil, leading to explorations of alternative energy like nuclear power. However, incidents like the Three Mile Island meltdown in 1979 spurred public concern and highlighted the budding environmental movement. The creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970 symbolized the government's response to environmental issues, alongside policies like the Clean Air Act of 1963. The video highlights key catalysts in environmental awareness such as Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" and the Cuyahoga River fire.

Highlights

• The OPEC oil embargo in 1973 highlighted the US's vulnerability due to foreign oil dependence. 🚗💸
• Three Mile Island nuclear incident in 1979 raised safety concerns about nuclear energy. ☢️
• Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" played a pivotal role in raising environmental awareness. 🌎
• 1970 saw the creation of the EPA under President Nixon, aiming to regulate pollution and protect resources. 🏛️
• The Clean Air Act of 1963 set a precedent for national air quality standards, later enforced by the EPA. 🌫️

Key Takeaways

• The US's dependency on Middle Eastern oil led to economic and policy challenges in the 1970s. 🛢️
• Nuclear energy was explored as an alternative, but incidents like Three Mile Island caused public fear. ⚛️
• Environmental awareness grew significantly in this era, partly due to Rachel Carson's book "Silent Spring". 📚
• The establishment of the EPA marked a significant step in addressing environmental concerns. 🌿
• Public incidents like the Cuyahoga River fire fueled demand for stronger environmental protection. 🔥

Overview

The US's dependency on foreign oil, particularly from Middle Eastern nations, became a focal issue during the 1970s. The OPEC oil embargo in 1973 demonstrated America's vulnerability and the geopolitical risks associated with oil reliance. This precarious situation catalyzed discussions around alternative energy sources, notably nuclear power, though public events showed its potential dangers as well.

Nuclear energy seemed a promising alternative due to the availability and lower greenhouse gas emissions. However, the Three Mile Island incident in 1979, where a reactor partially melted down, released radioactive material and instilled fear about nuclear safety among Americans. Combined with the Chernobyl disaster, these fears put brakes on nuclear energy adoption.

Environmental consciousness in the US saw a significant boost thanks to Rachel Carson's influential book "Silent Spring." The formation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970 under President Nixon was a governmental response to burgeoning environmental concerns and resulted in regulating pollutants and protecting public health. This era also saw critical incidents like the Cuyahoga River catching fire due to pollution, which underscored the need for robust environmental legislation.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to Environmental Policy In the 'Introduction to Environmental Policy' chapter of Heimlich's History, the focus is on the evolution and transformation of environmental policies between 1968 and 1980. The chapter begins with a discussion on natural resources beyond the United States and examines the international policies that arose from these issues. Subsequently, it shifts to analyze the domestic environmental policies during the same period. The chapter aims to enable learners to understand and explain the development and changes in environmental policies during this timeline.
• 00:30 - 01:30: Oil Dependency and OPEC The chapter titled 'Oil Dependency and OPEC' discusses the significance of oil as the predominant natural resource in the mid-20th century, particularly for the United States. The narrative explains how the oil-rich Middle Eastern nations held much of the world's oil supply, leading to a complex and often strained relationship with the oil-dependent United States. This tension traces back to historical and political events, notably including the creation of Israel in 1948, which dramatically influenced geopolitical dynamics in the region. As such, the chapter highlights the intersection of resource dependency and international relations.
• 01:30 - 03:00: Alternative Energy and Nuclear Power In 1973, the United States' unwavering support for Israel resulted in economic retaliation from Middle Eastern oil producers, who were part of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The Arab nations within OPEC decided to cut down oil supplies and hike prices, targeting the U.S. This led to significantly increased fuel prices and shortages in the United States, pushing policymakers to reevaluate their energy strategies, highlighting a pivotal moment in the pursuit of alternative energy and nuclear power solutions.
• 03:00 - 03:30: Three Mile Island and Nuclear Concerns The chapter 'Three Mile Island and Nuclear Concerns' discusses the United States' shift in focus towards alternative energy sources due to their main energy resources being under foreign control and dependent on unstable countries. Nuclear energy emerged as a prominent option as it was viewed as an American innovation despite its controversial history. Nuclear energy was attractive because its main requirement, uranium, was abundant.
• 03:30 - 05:00: Rise of the Environmental Movement The chapter "Rise of the Environmental Movement" highlights the dichotomy of nuclear energy, presenting it as a low greenhouse gas alternative to traditional energy sources, but also revealing its potential risks through the historical incident at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in 1979, where a nuclear reactor partially melted down, releasing radioactive waste into the environment, posing a danger to the nearby populous area.
• 05:00 - 06:30: Creation of the Environmental Protection Agency The chapter discusses the aftermath of an environmental accident and its implications for nuclear energy policy in the United States. Despite efforts by the government and local authorities to clean up the site, and no apparent harm to the surrounding population, public fear of nuclear energy was heightened, especially after the Chernobyl disaster in the Soviet Union. As a result, a national energy policy, particularly regarding nuclear energy, struggled to take hold in the U.S. However, this incident fueled the already growing environmental movement in the country. The chapter also hints at influential literature that contributed to this movement.
• 06:30 - 07:30: Clean Air Act The chapter titled 'Clean Air Act' discusses the rise of environmental awareness in the national consciousness, starting with Rachel Carson's 1962 book 'Silent Spring'. Carson's book highlighted how modern society was effectively poisoning the earth, particularly through the use of DDT pesticides in agriculture. The environmental movement gained further prominence with the first Earth Day in 1970 and was intensified by the Three Mile Island accident, which underscored the dangers of nuclear energy. These environmental concerns led to significant policy developments, culminating in the actions taken by President Richard Nixon in 1970.
• 07:30 - 08:10: Conclusion The conclusion emphasizes the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which was tasked with managing pollution control programs, regulating industries that polluted, and more. Despite criticism, the EPA was popular and necessary, as demonstrated by the Cuyahoga River in Ohio catching fire due to extreme pollution from factories upstream.

The ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES (1968-1980) [APUSH Review Unit 8 Topic 13] Period 8: 1845-1980 Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 hey there and welcome back to heimlich's history now we've been going through unit 8 of the ap us history curriculum and you didn't think we weren't going to talk about environmental issues did you you're so crazy so that's what we're going to be talking about environmental policy and if you're ready to get them brain cows milked opec style then let's get to it so our learning objective for this video is as follows explain how and why policies related to the environment developed and changed from 1968 to 1980. we're going to start by considering natural resources outside of the united states and what policies that led to and then we're going to consider environmental policies at home okay so
• 00:30 - 01:00 when we're talking about natural resources outside the borders of the united states during this period there's one that reigns supreme above all else and that is oil and most unfortunately for the oil addicted united states much of the world's oil during that period came from a cluster of nations in the middle east and in general the relationship between those countries in the united states was to put it mildly uh strained now much of the tension began with the creation of the nation of israel in 1948 and this is a very complicated thing but for our purposes it's going to be enough to know that arab nations in the middle east strongly
• 01:00 - 01:30 opposed this move while the united states remained a tight ally of israel in 1973 america's support for israel cost them dearly with respect to middle eastern oil oil-producing arab nations formed the organization of petroleum exporting countries or opec in order to better control the prices of the oil they exported in 1973 they dramatically reduced oil exports to america and raised the prices on oil that they did export as a result fuel prices rose dramatically in the united states and there was a significant shortage as a result it was at this point that american policymakers had to wake up to
• 01:30 - 02:00 the reality that their chief energy resources were not under their control and what oil they could get came from volatile countries that didn't like them very much so that led to a new conversation about alternative sources of energy for the united states one option on the table was shifting our energy dependence to nuclear energy and hey what could be more american than nuclear energy like we invented that issue and then we used it to blow up hundreds of thousands of civilians in japan but you know we invented it and the thing is nuclear energy actually had a lot going for it the nuclear reaction required uranium which was plentiful and
• 02:00 - 02:30 cheap and it doesn't produce any greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide as it's being processed but there is a downside and here's where i introduce you to a little place called three mile island in pennsylvania in 1979 one of the nuclear reactors on three mile island melted down partially and tons of radioactive waste was released into the surrounding environment but don't worry it was in the middle of nowhere and nobody was in danger i'm getting word that it was not in the middle of nowhere and that it was in fact in the middle of a highly populated area and lots of people were in danger
• 02:30 - 03:00 now to their credit the government worked with the local authorities to get it cleaned up and while it is disputed there seemed to be no evidence of harm done to the surrounding population even so this accident combined with the nuclear meltdown at chernobyl and the soviet union put fear in many americans minds regarding the safety of nuclear energy so at the end of the day a national policy on energy especially with respect to nuclear energy would not gain much of a foothold however this incident gave fresh momentum to the already burgeoning environmental movement of the united states one of the most significant books that got this
• 03:00 - 03:30 agenda in the national consciousness was rachel carson's 1962 book called silent spring in this book carson explained how modern society was in effect poisoning the earth especially with regards to the use of ddt pesticides in modern agriculture and then the environmental movement gained a great deal of exposure thanks to the celebration of the first earth day in 1970 and after the three-mile island accident these folks focused especially on the dangers of nuclear energy now as a result of these efforts we finally get to some policy in 1970 president richard nixon created the
• 03:30 - 04:00 environmental protection agency or the epa the job of the epa was to manage pollution control programs including pesticides oversee the regulation of industries that polluted and much much more and despite the very vocal disparagement of its detractors this was a decently popular move and the truth is the country was ripe for this agency because only a year before the cuyahoga river in ohio caught fire in 1969 and i did not say that wrong a river in ohio caught fire the reason it caught fire is because i've been so heavily polluted by factories upstream and it actually
• 04:00 - 04:30 caught fire something like 14 times and so americans reading about the environmental degradation by poisonous pesticides and seeing rivers on fire in the evening news got fed up and demanded environmental protection so the epa was one agency created by policymakers to address environmental concerns another policy to know is the clean air act passed in 1963. this was a law that was aimed at controlling air pollution on a national scale and once the epa was created it took over the regulatory work of that policy okay if you need more videos on unit 8 then click right over
• 04:30 - 05:00 here and if you need help getting an a in your class and a 5 on your exam in may then click right here in the review package and if you were in any way helped by this video then don't regulate your finger from clicking that subscribe button and i shall keep making them for you heimler out