rothman3

Rothman 3

Discussion for argument paper--when the experts disagree how do you decide which side to believe?

look at their supporting arguments and see which are more convincing
look at funding--if the experts who say cigarette smoking is safe are funded by the tobacco companies can you believe them?
look for different explanations of the same fact to understand both sides
look and see if the large majority of experts are on one side--you can sometimes tell this by major scientific organizations issuing statements
notice criticisms of research and even evaluate it for yourself (eg. how many people were studied or how large an area)
don't take any source as completely trustworthy
it doesn't work to say: "there are facts and there are theories--the facts stay the same and the theories change"
if you can never be completely objective, then we need to look at opinion
some sources are valuable for facts, other sources are useful to understand the different opinions
look for the assumptions and the values that may be behind conflicting opinions
we are looking for how effectively you explain why the arguments are better on the side you pick and what is wrong with the arguments on the other side

better active today than radioactive tomorrow

Something dramatic happened in the 10 years or so around 1970

In the 1960s, the environmental movement began to grow
new laws that dramatically changed protection for the environment
general shift in public opinion
the government took new roles

This new public opinion was very confusing for the government agencies that looked after natural land. Some of this was land that was publically owned, but there was also a government role affecting private land.

Private ownership is not total control of land--for example, in the U.S. wildlife is publically owned

state or local governments can restrict hunting and fishing even on private land
licenses are required
government agencies restocked game animals and fish
should people be restricted from developing privately owned land that is home to an endangered species?

Water

states established fish hatcheries to continually restock fish in streams
rivers and streams are publicly owned
in the west who can use the water from a river and how much is a huge issue

Public Lands

in the mid-20th century sale of federal land stopped
Federal land became not something the government was trying to distribute to the people by land sales and homesteading but rather land the federal government was retaining for its own purposes
along comes the environmental movement and presses the federal government to change the purposes
the goals of management of federal land have changed radically over time (eg. Forest Service change from timber production to recreation)
how did that shift happen?

Firefall

Park Service:

Environmentalists--were angry that the Park Service had not supported the Wilderness Act
what changed in the 1960s
wanted the parks to be more natural--don't feed the bears
Yosemite had a tradition called firefall where a bonfire was pushed over a high cliff each evening--this went on for 88 years until in 1968 the Park Service decided it was a manmade tradition damaging to the environment
whatever they did it made some group angry
many new parks were created for political reasons, diluting resources

anti-Forest Service cartoon--trees all cut

We will look more at the Forest Service next time, but Rothman stresses:

the Forest Service had traditionally criticized timber industry practices
but in the 1950s it became more dependent on the timber industry for support
Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act of 1960
increasing timber cutting and recreational use came into conflict
the Forest Service opposed the Wilderness Act, which took land out of multiple use
foresters had been the heroes of conservation and it was a shock that environmentalists came to see them as the enemy

Bureau of Land Management

got the leftover land--allowed public use of that land by permits for grazing, mining, and logging
who is the constituency--who are the people this government agency is most directly serving
local support came for allowing profitable use of the land
range wars--political fights about changing grazing rules
ranchers don't want wolves (remember this is federally owned land) and they don't want buffalo because they carry a disease cattle can catch

Notice the different messages of the old and new agency emblems--the old shows a surveyor, a logger, an oil worker, a cowboy, and a miner

Bureau of Reclamation:

had seen its mission as large scale water development projects

somewhat to provide water to cities
provide irrigation water so desert could be turned into farms

through the 1960s the agency tended to ignore its opponents
the Sierra Club regretted not opposing Glen Canyon Dam and decided to fight the BLM more seriously
old goal--to tame the river, stop floods and provide water for irrigation
the public had become much more suspicious of progress, of conquering nature
people no longer saw conquering a wild river as a good thing
concern about fish affected by dams

People were beginning to see quality of life (living in a pleasant environment) as important even when it conflicted with economic growth and progress

the young people of the baby boom in many cases didn't want to grow up to be like their parents--they wanted more freedom
life seemed too orderly
Vietnam and Watergate led to distrust of government

Long-term planning by government agencies came to be seen not as professional wisdom but as serving commercial interests--agencies eventually responded by trying to respond to public opinion, much weakening scientific planning

This page written and copyright Pamela E. Mack
Hist 124
last updated 11/9/09