The California Gold Rush Impact On California 's Environment

Coal became the fuel that fired the furnaces of the nation, transforming the Appalachian region socially and economically. Unfortunately mountain people didn't realize the implications of their mineral wealth. Many sold their land and mineral rights for pennies an acre to outlanders. Appalachians became laborers rather than entrepreneurs. Coal became a major industry which was extremely sensitive to outside fluctuations in the economy, leading to boom and bust cycles. The industry was controlled by interests outside the region, so that little of the profit remained or was reinvested.

The Gold Rush during the mid 1800s had a major impact on the movement westward. People traveled thousands of miles across all kinds of rugged terrain in pursuit of wealth and riches. The large amount of settlers in California during this time created a state full of diversity which remains the same to this day. These enormous amounts of people, however, made it difficult for the economy to support the ones who weren’t so lucky. On top of this, there was also a huge destruction of the Native population, and even discrimination against other newcomers. The Gold Rush also created significant environmental hazards throughout the area that are still a problem today. All these things are solid indicators that the Gold Rush actually had a negative impact on California.

In the beginning periods of California 's state hood, gold mining was the cornerstone of the Californian economy. Initially, numerous gold mineworkers who came to California were separated of bigger mining organizations that at first conveyed association to the gold fields5. Regardless, as the strain to discover gold mounted every day with the quantity of individuals coming to California expanding, it soon turned into each man for himself; and therefore a considerable lot of these associations fizzled. Nonetheless, the mining procedure was intricate, required bunches of labor, and as gold was getting to be noticeably increasingly hard to discover; the prologue to certain mechanical advances revived the Gold Rush and California as a state. The presentation of Hydraulic mining by French Canadian, Anton Chabot in 1850 and later consummated by Edward Matteson a 49er from Connecticut, effectsly affected the mining business and in addition the environment6. By damming waterway and streams mineworkers were currently ready to utilize the recently made waterbeds for their modern hoses, which would splash water angrily onto the riverbanks disintegrating the ground until the point that gold was

Since the settlement of the Lake Tahoe Basin people have deforested mountain sides, and killed almost all natural life within the waters. Just as the Lake Tahoe area has felt the

The future of California is pretty good, for the state is projected to see growth in almost every sector of the economy as well as the population, but there are many concerns that must be addressed first in order to see California’s growth come to fruition. International trade and business is one of California’s largest industries and it’s expected to continue increasing, for many emerging economies are also located off of the Pacific Ocean. Growth in the economy is good, but requires resources that California has a limited supply of. The main resource California always needs is water, since most of the state’s population resides in the southern regions, which are arid and receive minimal precipitation annually. The state is planning on improving efficiency and the aqueduct system to increase the water supply while decrease the environmental effects California’s aqueduct’s have on regions like the San Joaquin River Delta. For many years California has been considered a very liberal and left state, which is due to the fact that the state has the toughest environmental legislation in the country. With such strong legislation ensuring the protection of the environment California has become a model state in the fight against climate change, and must remain vigilant for there are numerous species endemic to the state that are found nowhere else on the planet. Though there are numerous other factors’ affecting California’s future these are some of the most interesting areas to

The topsoil dried up. Crops were destroyed as the horrified farmers watched. U-S-History.com says how “The water levels of lakes dropped by five feet or more.” Since the farmers plowed all the plains years earlier, all that there was left was dry, loose, dirt.

Yet, humans have limited control on natural events, so this only reinforces the importance of managing water wisely. Recently California’s government has begun to focus more on sustaining and restoring the water supply. Dale Kasler (2016) articulates in his article some of the steps they have decided to make to solve this serious issue. The government has made the following investments: “$415 million for watershed restoration and other environmental aid for Lake Tahoe; up to $335 million for two proposed reservoirs in California, including the Sites reservoir north of Sacramento; $880 million for flood-control projects on the American and Sacramento rivers in Sacramento; and $780 million for flood-control projects in West Sacramento” (para. 10). This could be the first step to restoring the water to California. But these

Richard Walker in his California’s Golden Road to Riches, described California’s economic order as “prospector capitalism,” or “resource capitalism.” Walker quotes David and Wright (1997:1) in order to describe this form- “intensity of search; new technologies of extraction, refining and utilization; market development and transportation investments…” (http://geog.berkeley.edu/PeopleHistory/faculty/R_Walker/CaGoldenRoad.html, Walker). This statement has clear comparisons to Takaki’s America Errand as both put a large focus on economic expansion via technology, increased transportation, and market development. Similar to when Takaki’s argument that the land must not go to waste, in the four statements that correspond to the dimensions of the capitalist economy it is written that “nature…converted into ‘resources’ or nature staked, claimed, and commodified”

Especially in the area around the Great Basin, since that covers most of the state. This area is surrounded by the mountain ranges and gets all the run off . This water helps with the water shortage throughout the year but at the time it is too much for the area to handle as there is no drainage to the ocean from this area. Groundwater is used throughout the state. Sometimes, the water is pumped out faster than it can be replenished. When this happens, the land surface can be affected. There are many cracks in the ground near Las Vegas, and in some places the land has sunken in over six feet within the last sixty years. An increase in the population of the state is to blame for the increased demand on the groundwater and therefore, the increased damage being done to the landscape as a whole. More people, more water, more land being developed, means less of the natural preservers being available. Also, with these floods the state sees landslides. The rocks of the area show the different ways the terrain was built

Water resources in the state of California have deteriorated drastically as a result of the current drought event in the west coast of the United States. This has resulted in insufficient supplies of water to residents of southern California, as well as the devastation of wildlife and aquatic ecosystems that are characteristic of this area. This policy analysis will provide the context of the issue, as well as possible solutions, followed by a proposed policy plan to reach the policy goal of equitable and reliable water allocation in the state of California, drought resilience, as well as restoration of the destroyed ecosystems.

Historically, this region was host to communities of Native Americans (East West Gateway Council of Governments, 2007, Leland, 1953). The abundance of freshwater and navigable rivers has attracted communities of people, and subsequently, commerce (Foley, 2000). Naturally, resources throughout the land have been extracted and utilized to further build these communities and attract prospective businesses. In the 19th century, this watershed was impacted by mining, logging, and grazing practices. In the early 20th century, logging dominated resource extraction (East West Gateway Council of Governments, 2007) which swiftly impacted the landscape. Ultimately, as logging stressed this region’s resources, state legislation allowed the federal government to purchase large tracts of land to establish national forest. Soon after, the national mobilization of the Civilian Conservation Corps, during the height

From the end of the Second World War to the present day, California strengthened its area as a political, social, and cultural trendsetter. California is also extraordinary than most other states because of its diversity in the people and climate. California’s diverse topographical features such as, the rainfall, temperature and sunlight vary throughout the state. The seasons also vary in California changing the areas climate. Since the beginning of European settlement in California, climate has become increasingly important in shaping the state’s economy (Osborne, 6).

Because most greenhouse gases would remain in the atmosphere for a long period of time, the temperature of the earth will be continuously rising. If global heat-trapping emissions proceed at a medium to high rate, temperatures in California are expected to rise 4.7 to 10.5°F by the end of the century1. With the rise of temperature, the climate of California would also be changed. California has large area of forest and farmland, hundreds of miles of coastline, large amount of snowpack, and other natural wonders. And these special treasures of nature are especially at risk2. So it is very necessary to understand the strategies of California to combat climate change.

Water is the most important resource, controlling all aspects of life. The effect on climate change is changing California’s water quality and quantity. This creates

It seems as humans evolve and advance, we also use nature to our advantage, and do not use any of our new-found technology to find ways to replenish those supplies which we so willingly take. Today, California is a test of our capability to adapt to human caused climate change. California’s first efforts to adapt started with the Assembly Bill 32 (the 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act), which has goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Then the state later drafted its first climate