September 21 Class

In this class, we discussed environmental economics and policy. There were three waves of environmental policy. The first wave took place during the 1780s to the late 1800s. It dealt with land management and promoted settlement and use of our natural resources. The second wave dealt with the problems associated with the westward expansion promoted by the first wave. The third wave in the 1960s and 1970s was the response to the pollution that was happening because of technology, heavy industry and intensive resource consumption. We also began looking at chemistry, energy and ecosystems.