US_Ch5_webquest-2

=**Did "Robber Barons" destroy the land to get raw materials and therefore destroy the environment?**=

A major modern Progressive argument against drilling for oil in the United States (ANWR) is to protect the environment. Many (not all) modern environmentalists take John Muir's approach of preservation by not using the land for anything except nature itself. Captains of industry, who get labeled "Robber Barons," get blamed for destroying the environment. However, lumberman Frederick Weyerhaeuser, who is often portrayed as one who stripped the land, was really one of America's greatest environmentalists. By 1885, his firm processed more than 500 million board feet of lumber from his 300,000 acres (800,000 by 1900). He recognized that he must conserve and efficiently use his land and not waste it if he wanted to keep his lumber business moving. Therefore, he devoted resources to reforestation, soil erosion, and fire protection. Weyerhaeuser planted more trees and worked to protect the land as much as use it for his business. Fire historian Stephen Pyne conducted detailed investigations of forestry records from 1940 to 1965 and found that lightning started 228,000 fires in the U.S. consuming 1 million acres - nature destroying forests - whereas Weyerhaeuser replaced the trees he cut down. Americans are often demonized for using too much oil and other resources, but with Rockefeller bringing the price of kerosene down, Americans used less coal and wood and stopped the whale oil industry (saved whales - whale oil was main source of energy before the price of kerosene dropped). The price cut engineered by Rockefeller helped all consumers. He obsessed with efficiency and once said to his partner "we must remember we are refining oil for the poor man and he must have it cheap and good." Some sources demonize Rockefeller. However, during the industrial revolution, efficiency and eliminating waste drove the entrepreneurs and was part of the reason for their successes. Even to this day, American businesses try to find the safest and most environmentally friendly methods of extracting raw materials. In addition, Americans enjoy numerous goods that require raw materials. Think of everything you use and how it's produced. While it is true that raw materials do involved some disruption of the environment, it's not the full story.


 * 2. How were motives of efficiency and not wasting evidence that industrialists were NOT trying to destroy the environment?**

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