Research: Topics: Environment

Environmental Affairs in New York State: An Historical Overview

by Brad Edmondson [1]
for the New York State Archives

Visit the Guides to Historical Records section of the Publications area to obtain a PDF or print copy of this publication.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Before 1895: Discovering Nature
   • From Hell to Heaven
   • From Cholera To Clean Water
   • Fate of the Forests
   • The Forest Preserved
   • Before 1895, Conclusion
3. 1895 to 1970: The Conservation Era
   • Conservation Vs. Preservation
   • The Wilderness Lobby
   • Showdown At Moose River
   • Audubon’s Pioneer Activists
   • From Theory to Practice
   • Robert Moses and Franklin Roosevelt
   • Pollution Control: Water, Air, and Land
4. 1970 to 2000: The Environmental Machine
   • Courts, Citizens, and Cash
   • Energy and Economics
   • The DEC Empire
   • Solid Waste
   • Pesticides
   • Toxic Waste
   • Clean Water
   • Clean Air
   • Wildlife and open space
   • Adirondacks
   • 1970-2000, Conclusion
5. Endnotes