A Historical Perspective on Sustainable Development of Arid Lands.

New Mexico Journal of Science, November, 1999 by Thomas, G.W.

G.W. Thomas [32]

Abstract

This paper is based on more than 55 years of professional involvement in the resource conservation movement and a brief review of the literature. I have identified specific trends and problems as the nation moves toward sustainable development, with emphasis on arid and semi-arid areas.

During the early decades of the nation's history, the focus of government and private industry was on exploiting what were perceived as unlimited resources--particularly in the West. With the advent of drought, depression, the Dust Bowl, and other natural resource problems in the 1920s and 1930s, a conservation ethic evolved. The early focus of the conservation movement was the productive capacity of the environment, namely...

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