Men Woman and the Environment

Stephanie Roach During the 20th century most men and woman had similar views on many things. In Women and Conservation by Carolyn Merchant it breaks down womens contributions to conservation within their lives. In the 19th and 20th century woman developed organizations and clubs protecting the preservation of wildlife. The California club merged in January of 1900 with Miss Robert Burdett as president and Miss Lovell White as vice president. They believed that men were the main destroyers of precious wilderness and natural beauty. "Better one living tree in California, than 50 acres of lumber yard..." The women of this group worked hard to protect forests, bodies of water, and wildlife. In 1890 the General Federation of Womens Clubs (GFWC) came about. This federation started campaigns to clean up polution, recycle, an plant trees and floweers to make areas look more attractive. Miss Phillip Moore was the president of the federation from 1908-1910, she believed that "nature should be left unrestrained." What this means is that the growing of plants shouldnt be controlled. Humans should just let nature take its course and grow freely. Along with plants and nature women also cared about the protection of animals; so much so that the Audobon Movement was established. Young girls were fighting to abolish wearing feathers to protect birds. It was a national bird conservation senitment. In Masculinity and Environmental Reform by Adam Rome shows the stuburness of men in the 19th and 20th century. Men on the other hand saw things completey different. Men thought that women were incapable of running organizations. Even if woman were apart of an organization they would hide the fact that they were in it. "The men involved hoped that excluding women would protect them against the disabing charge of enitmentality." This meant that a lot of men kept woman out of their groups because they did not want to seem to sensitive. Many men supported the environmental issues