The United States - Comparing Environmental Policies in 16 Countries - page 15

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The United States
Christopher Columbus's discovery of the New World revolutionized the
Old World's understanding of nature, science, and civilization. Within
6 years of the first Spanish landing in the Caribbean, the English had dis-
patched Captain John Cabot to explore the land that is now the United
States. Soon Ponce de León, Hernando de Soto, and Francisco Coronado
were exploring on behalf of Spain, and Giovanni da Verrazano was sail-
ing from North Carolina to Maine on behalf of France. They found a land
rich with forests, savannas, rivers, and mountains. They also found native
peoples (mistakenly labeled Indians) who lived with nature in a way the
Europeans had not done for more than a thousand years. Some believed
they had found paradise. Columbus believed that he had located the
Garden of Eden.
As exploration gave way to settlement over the next century, the next
wave of explorers extolled the beauty and resources of the country.
Captain John Smith rhapsodized over the Chesapeake Bay with its rivers
teeming with fish and oysters, and shores lined with fertile land suitable
for farming. Farther north, the early settlers in New England extolled
the riches of the land. Furthermore, they believed that its isolation from
the corruption of old England would make it ideal for establishing a pure
Christian community. The Pilgrim John Winthrop wrote that “God has
provided this place as a refuge . . . ,” and recalled the Book of Genesis,
saying “the whole earth is the Lord's garden.” 1
Yet while the early explorers and settlers valued American nature, most
had practical aims, too. Many sought gold and silver. They planted col-
onies with the aim of growing crops like tobacco for export to Europe
and engaging in trade with the Indians. Even the New England Puritans
praised their land for the abundance of its timber, the wealth of its furs,
and the bounty of its fisheries. Yet while early American settlers exalted