The Effect Transportation Has Had on the Environment
We as humans, live in an ever-changing society set on furthering advancement for the betterment of mankind. In this class, we have focused a great deal of time on human expansion and industrialization and the effects it in return has had on the environment. While we have focused on the efforts to glorify and preserve the environment, through efforts such as President Theodore Roosevelt and the establishment of the National Parks System, to the efforts of Henry David Thoreau and his time spent writing "Walden" and reflecting on the nature that surrounded him; there has been many such instances in which the environment has been forever changed and damaged by the actions of humans. While there are many focuses of preservation I could have made this assignment on, I have decided to focus this story map on the effects that transportation have had on the environment. Along the way, in discussing the advancement of transportation during decade periods, I also want to spend some time reflecting on important events that occurred during these decades, that not only had their own environmental effects, but also have some sort of relation to the overarching theme of transportation; these events include some analysis on the Civil War, the depletion of the Buffalo, the founding of the Sierra Club, to even in present day the future of biofuels and the reshaping of transportation to better the environment. I will begin by analyzing a series of maps from the 1800's of the railroad system and talk about the effects that the growth of the railroads had on the environment, before moving forward into the 1900's and talking about the negatives of our current automobile system towards the environment, as well as the future of the transportation system.
This first map, reflects the amount of railroads in the United States in the year 1860. By this year, the effect and growth of a mass transportation system in the United States could be felt, but mostly only on the East Coast, as seen on the map, there were still very limited railroads on the West Coast especially in states that would later see a large increase in transportation such as in California. That being said, the environmental impact of the railroad was still substantial during this time, as with the construction of these railroads came the loss of habitats across the East Coast. For example, since railroads required the use of wood in order to build them, many forest and wooded habitats were destroyed for human advancement. Also, by 1861 the United States would have entered the Civil War as both the North and South would use the environment to their strategic advantages, and would alter and change the environment for the remainder of history. The environmental impacts that stem from wars include the destroying of habitats, the altering of land, to even things such as the spreading of harmful chemicals and diseases. While this story map has a directed focus on transportation, I think it is important to briefly discuss the Civil War because soldiers used transportation and especially the environment to help their cause in the war. According to Ted Widmer, in his opinion piece in the "New York Times", he states that, "But the war’s damage was far more pervasive than that. In every theater, Northern and Southern armies lived off the land, helping themselves to any form of food they could find, animal and vegetable. These armies were huge, mobile communities, bigger than any city in the South save New Orleans. They cut down enormous numbers of trees for the wood they needed to warm themselves, to cook, and to build military structures like railroad bridges. Capt. Theodore Dodge of New York wrote from Virginia, “it is wonderful how the whole country round here is literally stripped of its timber. Woods which, when we came here, were so thick that we could not get through them any way are now entirely cleared.” This quote both shows that the war efforts, as well as transportation had a great environmental impact during this period of United States history. I believe that many people think of the railroads of the time as being strictly for transportation, but as the war showed, humans would use the building and construction of railroads for many purposes and in return the environment was harmed and destroyed due to these actions. Below I am attaching some images of the environment and the damage it received due to the Civil War.
As you could see by these two images, the Civil War caused great damage to the natural environment. Land was often altered and destroyed, in order to make things such as fence lines or bunkers. While these environment changes may have aided soldiers in both their fight and to avoid being killed, it came with the cost of habitats and land forever being changed. The first image comes from Getty Images, while the image below is from the Library of Congress.
According to Matthew M. Stith, " The natural and built environment directly shaped the course and outcome of the Civil War. Disease, weather, terrain, animals, food, and a host of other environmental factors were all inextricably tied to both large-scale campaigns and back yard battles across the South. The environment influenced critical engagements just as much as it affected civilian efforts to survive. It dictated guerrilla tactics as much as it influenced military and domestic supply systems. The environment molded the war, and the conflict shaped the natural environment. Environmental forces determined where, when, and how battles were waged and won, and they dictated the course of the war on the home front. Hundreds of thousands of work animals and livestock perished in the war. Combatants cut down or blasted apart millions of trees. Controlled deforestation became a strategy for combating Confederate guerrillas, and felled trees fueled fires for large and small armies. Union commanders found that a successful war against the Confederacy meant also destroying the Confederacy’s built environment. The Civil War had become a war over and with the environment and it rapidly devolved into a series of particularly brutal, if localized, total wars amidst larger scale regular campaigns.
This second map is from 1870, and shows further development of the railroad system as compared to the map from 1860 earlier in this story map. The main difference seen in this story map, is that now there is a completed rail line from East to West, and as the map points out between 1860 to 1870 the railroad system grew from 30,626 miles to 52,922 miles. Having a railroad that connected both the east and the west, has been referred to throughout history as being the transcontinental railroad, and this construction had detrimental effects on the environment. While this push westward led to population growth and the emergence of cities, especially during the industrial revolution, I believe the bigger focus should be on the impact it had on the environment. While there are many environmental issues and problems that stemmed from the creation and completion of the transcontinental railroad, such as the simple loss of habitat due to construction, I have decided to focus on the Buffalo and how they suffered immensely due to the construction of the railroad. Before transportation and railroad expansion westward, Buffalo had dominated the midwest and very large populations that populated the states in which humans had destined to build these railways. Gilbert King, has written a very detailed account of the loss of the Buffalo due to the railroad in his article, "Where the Buffalo No Longer Roamed" in which he details both the dominance of Buffalo in this region prior to the railroad, and the unfortunate fate they received when humans decided to push forward with building the transcontinental line. He states that, "The bison’s lifespan of 25 years, rapid reproduction and resiliency in their environment enabled the species to flourish, as Native Americans were careful not to overhunt, and even men like William “Buffalo Bill” Cody , who was hired by the Kansas Pacific Railroad to hunt the bison to feed thousands of rail laborers for years, could not make much of a dent in the buffalo population. In mid-century, trappers who had depleted the beaver populations of the Midwest began trading in buffalo robes and tongues; an estimated 200,000 buffalo were killed annually. Then the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad accelerated the decimation of the species." This shows that humans knew early on that the Buffalo would serve as a serious challenge towards creating the railroad, and knew that in order to complete the railroad it would come at the costs of the Buffalo and the environment. He goes on further in his article towards when mass production of the railway began by stating,"Massive hunting parties began to arrive in the West by train, with thousands of men packing .50 caliber rifles, and leaving a trail of buffalo carnage in their wake. Unlike the Native Americans or Buffalo Bill, who killed for food, clothing and shelter, the hunters from the East killed mostly for sport. Native Americans looked on with horror as landscapes and prairies were littered with rotting buffalo carcasses. The railroads began to advertise excursions for “hunting by rail,” where trains encountered massive herds alongside or crossing the tracks. Hundreds of men aboard the trains climbed to the roofs and took aim, or fired from their windows, leaving countless 1,500-pound animals where they died." I find this quote incredibly disheartening, because it exemplifies the efforts that humans will go to in order to achieve a goal. The Buffalo served no purpose to Americans for their survival, they were simply killed because they stood as an obstacle for the railroad to be completed. The actions taken by these men, still have environmental impacts today, as we now have a very limited amount of Buffalo left in the United States due to this inhumane hunting and depletion of resources, just to finish a railroad. Below, I have attached an image of the aftermath of Buffalo hunting.
I have decided to skip the map of the railroads of the 1880's, and have moved forward to talk about railroads by 1890. So far, I have spoken about the terrible effects that the creation of the railroads led to but for this portion of the story map, I want to discuss some environmental good that came during the 1890's, and in some way can lead back to transportation. As seen on the map, by 1890 there was 163,597 miles of railroads stretching across the entire United States, which in turn had its negatives such as destroying of land, habitat loss, species depletion, and more; but it also had it benefits as well. Since the railroads had led to population growth, the rise of cities, and increased production across the United States, beginning in the 1890's a more conservative image towards the environment and nature was created by a group of people who were able to recognize how transportation and the growth that stemmed from it had led to terrible effects on the environment. We spoke in class on a few occasions about the impact of John Muir and the Sierra Club, and for this portion of the story map I want to discuss how they impacted the overall goal of nature conservation. Since the railroads were able to stretch out westward and people were able to travel to California, by the 1890's California and its citizens had a very important part in the conservation of nature and the environment. By 1890, two National Parks in California, the Yosemite and Sequoia became protected landmarks in the state, where humans could no longer deplete the natural resources and species that populated these areas. By 1892, John Muir and a group of others in California started the Sierra Club, where conservation became the top priority of these individuals. According to Brittanica, the Sierra Club had great success within its first decades of founding and even throughout the 20th Century. The website states that, "Among its first successes was the defeat of efforts to constrict the size of Yosemite National Park , which in 1905 was transferred from state to federal control. In the early 20th century the club built trails and park buildings, opposed damming and grazing on some public lands, and supported the establishment of the National Park Service (1916) and the California State Park Commission (1927). Landscape photographer Ansel Adams was an active member of the group, popularizing club causes with his nature images." While Muir and the Sierra Club had originally focused their conservation efforts in California, also according to Brittanica, their efforts began to shift throughout the United States throughout the 1900's. The website states, "Though much of its early work was concentrated in California and the West, after mid-century the Sierra Club expanded its efforts nationally, opening an office in Washington, D.C., in 1963. The club enjoyed a series of conservation successes in the Grand Canyon , Great Lakes , Florida Everglades , and Alaskan forests and was encouraged by federal legislation that created the Wilderness Act (1964), the Environmental Protection Agency (1970), and the Clean Air Act (1977). The club also mounted international campaigns related to overpopulation , international trade , and global climate change ." So while the railroads and growing transportation system of the United States led to many environmental problems throughout the 1800's, I believe examples such as the Sierra Club show that by the end of the 1800's there was some great conservation efforts that were made to fix and conserve the environment. I would argue that the transportation system in the United States and especially the railroads played a part in this factor, because they were responsible for expansion and growing cities and populations, as well as being responsible for many environmental problems, that people such as John Muir aimed to fix. I will now be moving forward into the 1900's and talk about how modern transportation has created its own set of environmental issues that we are facing today.
The photo above features John Muir and some of the early members of the Sierra Club.
https://www.interstate-guide.com/
For the final map of this assignment, I have jumped forward into the 1900's to talk about how transportation has impacted the environment. More specifically, the map above reflects the Interstate Highway System across the United States in 1974. The Interstate Highway System was created in 1956 and was designed to connect all 50 states and be completed by the 1980's. As this map reflects, by 1974 there was already immense amounts of highways connecting these states, making it easy for humans to travel across the country in their vehicles at any given time. In terms of the environment, the national highway system is so expansive and covers so much space, that it goes without question that the construction of the system has led to the loss of habitats across the United States. For this portion of the story map however, my main focus is not necessarily the damage caused by the construction of this highway system, but rather the environmental damage caused by the vehicles that roam it. There is no question that cars and trucks are a vital aspect of our daily lives, they help transport goods and people to a variety of locations at any given time; however, when it comes to the environment these vehicles have been proven to be detrimental to conserving our environment. The main issues that come from cars and other types of similar vehicles, is the air pollution and global warming that has been linked to the use of these vehicles. I have found a very good perspective piece done at Penn State, that breaks down the effect that cars are having on our environment. According to the author of this article, "Automobiles create about 33% of all U.S. air pollutants in the forms of carbon dioxide, smog and several other toxic chemicals and gases." This shows that about 1/3 of all air pollution we have currently is coming from the emissions that cars give off when we drive them, so while it may be the case that these vehicles are seen to be vital to our daily lives, every time somebody drives one of these vehicles we are increasing the amount of pollution being put into the air. Also the author speaks about the damage incurred by the use of greenhouse gases used to power our cars, they state, "According to the EIA , greenhouse gases allow sunlight to enter the Earth’s atmosphere more than it naturally should. Sometimes sunlight is reflected off the surface as heat, which greenhouse gasses absorb and trap in the atmosphere that we live in. This in turn causes the overall temperature of the Earth to increase as well. These greenhouse gases include: benzene, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, hydrocarbons and sulfur dioxide. Fun fact from CarBusters: almost 0.009 metric tons of carbon dioxide are produced for every GALLON of gasoline burned, which means that the average American makes about 11.7 tons of carbon dioxide each year from their cars alone." Throughout my time at California State University San Marcos, there has been a lot of talk in my classes about the problems associated with too much Carbon Dioxide entering the atmosphere due to our vehicles, the only way we can essentially stop this problem is to eliminate the use of gasoline powered vehicles and to go with electric vehicles, but that is a reality that will likely never exist completely. In fact, even innovators such as Elon Musk have spoke on the issue before and even believe that ti would take numerous decades just to stop the production of gasoline powered vehicles and replace them with electric or more environmentally safe vehicles. My personal solution would be to eliminate the use of gasoline and fuels that emit greenhouse gases in the process of obtaining them, and in return start the use of biofuels. This past summer I took an online course in biological science, in which I watched a video about biofuels and the ability they may potentially one day have in shaping not only the vehicle industry, but the environment as well.
How Algae Could Change The Fossil Fuel Industry
The video above perfectly details how something such as Algae which can be used as a biofuel, could completely reshape our environment for future generations. While Algae is easy to grow, the main fallback has been the issue of making the fuel created from Algae affordable; however, with more and more increased production of biofuels, the prices for them will likely drop in larger increments as time continues to pass. So while our current system of transportation continues to hurt the environment on a daily basis, I think it is important to look towards the future in hopes that one day things such as biofuels will reshape daily life and the current state of the environment.
In conclusion, for my story map assignment I have discussed the role transportation has had in the overall issues the environment has had not only in the past, but today as well. I began by discussing the 1860's and moving forward to present day, not only speaking about how direct transportation has had an effect on the environment, but how specific events that in some way relate to transportation has also damaged our environment over time. As seen with the Civil War and the depletion of the Buffalo, the use of the railroad aided soldiers in battle and aided hunters in the process of killing of thousands of Buffalo in the push west. I also have touched on some positives that have come or may come from transportation, such as the Sierra Club in which I believe transportation helped aid its creation or in present day the potential use of biofuels to reshape the automobile industry and hopefully one day make progress towards conserving and aiding our environment.
Bibliography
How Algae Could Change The Fossil Fuel Industry, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCNkmi7VE0I.
King, Gilbert. “Where the Buffalo No Longer Roamed.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 17 July 2012, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/where-the-buffalo-no-longer-roamed-3067904/.
Stith, Matthew M. “Environment and the Civil War.” StackPath, https://www.essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com/environment-and-the-civil-war.html.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Sierra Club.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 28 Jan. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sierra-Club.
“The Effects of Automobiles on the Environment.” Perspectives On The Environment, 27 Mar. 2015, https://sites.psu.edu/perspectivesontheenvironment/2015/03/27/the-effects-of-automobiles-on-the-environment/.
Widmer, Ted. “The Civil War's Environmental Impact.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 Nov. 2014, https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/15/the-civil-wars-environmental-impact/.
