Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
National Forest Service (NFS)
: The Forest Reserve Act of 1891 created the first
national forest reserves in the United States and entrusted their management to the
Department of Agriculture. The administration envisioned by the Forest Reserve Act
became the basis for today's National Forest Service. With nearly 155 forest
reserves to manage and seven research centers, the activities of the NFS are quite
similar to the French
Office National des Forêts
.
National Wilderness Protection System (NWPS)
: Established by the Wilderness
Act of 1964, the NWPS coordinates the activities of the Federal Agency, BLM
(Bureau of Land Management), the National Forest Service (Forestry reserves), the
National Park Service, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. In this way
some 430,000 km² (4.7% of land area) of protected areas are governed by
regulations established in 1964.
Nation of Islam (NOI)
: A heterodox Muslim sect founded in Detroit in 1930, the
Nation of Islam owes much of its fame to the black activist, Malcolm X, who
converted to Islam while in prison, traveled to Mecca, and upon his return in 1964
became an outspoken critic of racism in America. Louis Farrakhan who became the
leader of the movement in 1978, promotes ethnic identity views which are not
without ambiguity. Minister Farrakhan's racist positions (both anti-white and anti-
Jewish) fuel much of the controversy around this organization.
Neotechnical revolution
: We owe this term to science historian, Lewis Mumford
who, in his initial outline for the neotechnical phase of the industrial revolution
(1934) involved the systematic use of electrical energy to facilitate the automation of
tasks in the early 20th century [MUM 34]. In his eyes, this development is full of
promise, as it should reconcile man with nature through a more efficient use of
energy. Subsequently, Mumford developed a more critical view [MUM 61, 63, 70],
noting that the supremacy of the automobile in transportation has encouraged urban
sprawl and pollution.
New Deal
: Launched by President F.D. Roosevelt in 1933, the New Deal was a
set of social and economic policies devised as innovative responses to the Great
Depression of 1929. The New Deal helped America out of the crisis and contributed
to the preservation of democracy. It also, however, increased state intervention in
economic and social affairs, an orientation that was subsequently challenged by
conservatives beginning in the 1970s. Roosevelt's three successive terms (1932-44),
and those of Truman (1944-52), marked the high point of Democratic Party history.
Contrary to popular belief, the British economist John Maynard Keynes was more
inspired by the New Deal than he himself was inspiring. In the area of territorial
governance, the New Deal was innovative in promoting federal intervention in
