The Hudson Valley and its shifting over time have provided a great symbol of our goal to achieve environmental balance. Initially, the ecosystem was in relative environmental harmony as the American Indian populations were not so drastically high that they depleted many local and temporary resources. Biodiversity was as high as it could be, and technological impacts were kept to a minimum due to a lack of human intervention and higher education.
Fast forward to the Colonial Era and the first half of our young country’s history and the Hudson Valley is an epicenter for industrial development. The Hudson River proved crucial for trade to the west and local industry that spurred the local economy. Fisheries, factories and harbors all hurt the sea life directly, as population increases surrounding the industrial centers and towns depleted animal species and local resources. As mentioned earlier in City at the Water’s Edge, the Hudson Valley was subjected to intense deforestation at the expense of the lumber industry and domestic wood demand. It was particularly interesting to know that the overwhelming majority of trees that now exist up and through New York are nowhere near 150 years old.
Today, the Hudson Valley is in a different stage. Our society acknowledges the impacts it can have on the environment. Humans have developed suburbs, built factories, and tore down trees twice or three times over. Through the Hudson River Estuary Action Agenda, it could be seen there is evidence that the current stage is different from how it was before.
Many advancements have been made to correct for our past environmental neglect. There are now safeguards and regulations in place to track pollution, acidity levels, and temperatures in the region to make sure that the local wildlife is at least sustained and able to survive in the environment. There is also an established commitment to maintaining the Valley’s greenery and land integrity and suburbanization and the negative externalities continue to threaten the landscape. What makes this era different from the last is that we, as a society, now recognize the imbalance and are now implementing methods and means of correcting this imbalance as effectively as possible.
