Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The first major impulses in Europe toward what would later be called environmentalism initially appeared in direct relation to the rise of empires and industrialization during the nineteenth century. The iconic billowing smokestacks of England naturally drew attention to technology's impact on nature, but pollution was not the only problem. Industrialization's appetite for natural resources resulted in widespread environmental changes, as many areas in Europe were transformed to serve agricultural purposes in order to feed a rapidly urbanizing population. Meanwhile, the colonial subjugation of landscapes in Africa, India, and Southeast Asia ensured the plundering of raw materials. The British navy's demand for wood, for example, threatened the deforestation of its territories. The degradation of the landscape did not go unnoticed or uncontested. The romantic literary tradition, exemplified in Germany by Rainer Maria Rilke and in Britain by William Wordsworth, celebrated the virgin wilds and promoted reverence of nature. This sentiment eventually coalesced around nature conservation efforts. Accordingly, some private citizens' groups formed to preserve woodlands and control pollution. Other conservationist causes included protection of birds in Britain and Germany, while Dutch activists rescued the Naarder Sea from a potential fate as garbage dump and made it a wildlife refuge in ... log in or subscribe to read full text