Overview

In the 1960s the environmental movement gained strength and direction, first in the United States and then in many other nations. Increasing knowledge of the environment and the impact of humans on it led to increasing clamor for regulations protecting areas such as wetlands, rainforests, the oceans, waterways, endangered species, and the atmosphere. In addition to marked environmental changes, these regulations and other measures have changed many aspects of industry, and environmental concerns have repeatedly been raised as issues in international trade discussions and similar venues.

Background

Some say that environmentalism began with Henry David Thoreau's (1817-1862) books, written in the 1840s and 1850s. Others claim that John Muir (1838-1914) in the latter decades of the nineteenth century helped to start the modern environmental movement, preserving lands for posterity rather than simply writing about them. Still others...