- What environmental footprints has the Industrial Revolution left that still remain today?
Black-bodies moths are still found to this day. The air pollution stripped the little remaining trees from their light lichens and revealed the dark bark inside. In order to continue camouflaging, they gradually changed colour.
Before 1810, these moths had never been seen before, proving that it was the revolution that caused this.
2. Who were the important figures of the Industrial Revolution that thought long-term about the environmental effects?
In the early 1800’s, virtually nobody was concerned about the earth. But by the middle of the century, environmentalist groups began enforcing the love of nature all across Brittan and spreading to Europe.
Luke Howard (1772-1864) published The Climate of London in the late 1810’s, where he describes a heat island affect that concentrated the smog (or “city fog”, as he called it) over London.
John Muir was the first “real” environmentalist. He lived in America during the late 18th/early 9th century and constantly advocated against unregulated hunting. Bisons were being killed left, right and center at that time, so he made sure people slowed down.
Laws got put in place. Of all places to be first, it was Nazi Germany. They were careful to protect their forests while doing other very horrible things.
3. How were the leaders responding to the environmental damages?
For a while, Brittan’s leaders were ignoring the problem since it brought them economic value to have the factories running. In 1880, Francis Russel (son of former Prime Minister) blamed the smoke on household chimneys and pretty much everything except the industrial factories. He said that this “home smoke” damaged buildings, deprived crops of sunlight, and got many citizens sick.
His quote: “[more than 2,000 Londoners] had literally chocked to death… [on account of] a want of carefulness in preventing smoke in domestic fires.” Which emitted coal smoke from “more than a million chimneys.” When you add that to the long-0lasting fogs, it was all “more fatal than the slaughter of many a great battle.”
