In the early twentieth century industry operated as a �closed model�.  The prevailing management theory was that the environment and employees were things to control and exploit for profit. Early in the century, the Progressive Movement slowly introduced ideas such as conservation and environmentalism.  It would not be until well after mid-century that these ideas really gained momentum in the scientific community.  With escalating high profile environmental disasters occurring, the public looked to scientists for help in promoting change in the political, economic, and legal realms. By the 1970s a paradigm shift occurred as we began to accept and understand that our interaction with the environment is an �open model�.  This paper will explore the events and people that precipitated the shift and prompted the development of the agencies and regulations that we know and operate under today.

Environmental revolution of the 1970s: A paradigm shift

248th National Meeting (2014)

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