General Effects on the Enviornment
The oil craze in the Pennsylvania Oil Region from the early 1860s to the early 1880s created vast negative effects on the environment. The first thing to consider is the geographical determination for this phenomenon. As mentioned on the home page, oil pools and gas pools were prevalent in portions of Clarion, Butler, and Armstrong Counties as well as Venango County where the oil frenzy began. Without all this oil stored away below the surface, the landscape of this region of Pennsylvania may look different today. This is because all this oil drew large amounts of people to the area which created a situation of extensive human interaction with the immediate environment.
At the time, the ideology that was instilled in the minds of most Americans was work, industry, and progress first, nature second. This ideology had been present in the minds of the early English settlers as they came to the New England region to obtain America’s abundant resources with no regard to the adverse effects they were having on the land; this is very well analyzed in William Cronon’s book Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England. Thus, Oil Creek Valley, where oil was first struck, has been seen as a “…place where environmental ethics of any sort were secondary to the generation of wealth.” (Black, 62) Pollution and waste showed people in other parts of America there were signs of progress in this oil region. Popular media at the time “…placed the oil industry in the past, present, and future of the nation, thereby fostering its presence in many American’s aspirations and dreams,” (Black, 64) thus drawing them to the area by the thousands.
With this ideology mentioned above, many hazardous environmental factors ensued. With all the drilling that produced vast amounts of oil along with the rudimentary oil processes of extracting, storing, and transporting at the time, large amounts of oil continuously leaked and spewed everywhere. Oil could enter rivers and streams and affect many areas where the oil could reach by way of water flow. For example, “many reports were recorded years ago about giant sturgeon in the Clarion River…Every year, sturgeon worked their way out of the Allegheny River and up the Clarion River from the mouth in order to spawn…Once the oil wells and coal mines polluted the once clear waters, the giant sturgeon ceased to venture…” to these waters. (McCall, 59) Also, if oil ignited on land, the flames could travel to the oil in the water and move downstream, affecting a wider range of natural landscape. Other issues that threatened the environment were the mass debris and mud created by vast and continuous oil well operations. In terms of mud, this gives indications of soil erosions which drastically increased the chances for flooding such as the case for the July 26, 1879 flooding of Bear Creek. With the aided help of one of the heaviest storms ever known in the region, the creek flooded and the dam at railroad ridge above Petrolia gave way, flooding most of the town. Finally, the oil industry along with the many side industries created by oil caused much air pollution.
The major environmental hazard created by the oil industry was, of course, fire. Being a highly flammable substance, oil caused many fire outbreaks in many oil boomtowns. Such as the April 1st, 1879 fire in Petrolia and the April 4th, 1873 fire in the City of Parker (this fired destroyed the entire business section of the city). A major reason why fires were so common and why some of them were so devastating was due to the fact that oil boomtowns “…consisted entirely of light and flimsy constructed wooded buildings” (History of Butler County Pennsylvania 1883, 134) that were erected quickly to meet the demands of the springing population and crammed people into them to the utmost capacity. Of course, many oil businessmen and operators did not blame oil itself, nor take in consideration the implications of such close proximity construction. As seen in the April 4th, 1873 issue of the Oil Man’s Journal, “Petroleum, in one form or another, gets credit for being one of the most frequent originators of fires…so on through a long list of conflagrations in which petroleum is the first thing burned, it is accused of being the cause of fires…We suggest that a careful examination of the fire records of the country will show that nine out of ten of all the conflagrations have been either direct of indirect result of the criminality or the carelessness of men…” With this oil first attitude, the natural landscape of the Pennsylvania Oil Region was sacrificed greatly.
So, as seen, the oil craze of the 1860s and 1870s in Western Pennsylvania had many adverse effects on the landscape. Being geographically determined, this landscaped was sacrificed for the fortune driven minds for black gold by many Americans. This ideology of progress and prosperity saw many hazards of oil itself, flooding, air pollution, and fires to be inflicted onto the environment.
At the time, the ideology that was instilled in the minds of most Americans was work, industry, and progress first, nature second. This ideology had been present in the minds of the early English settlers as they came to the New England region to obtain America’s abundant resources with no regard to the adverse effects they were having on the land; this is very well analyzed in William Cronon’s book Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England. Thus, Oil Creek Valley, where oil was first struck, has been seen as a “…place where environmental ethics of any sort were secondary to the generation of wealth.” (Black, 62) Pollution and waste showed people in other parts of America there were signs of progress in this oil region. Popular media at the time “…placed the oil industry in the past, present, and future of the nation, thereby fostering its presence in many American’s aspirations and dreams,” (Black, 64) thus drawing them to the area by the thousands.
With this ideology mentioned above, many hazardous environmental factors ensued. With all the drilling that produced vast amounts of oil along with the rudimentary oil processes of extracting, storing, and transporting at the time, large amounts of oil continuously leaked and spewed everywhere. Oil could enter rivers and streams and affect many areas where the oil could reach by way of water flow. For example, “many reports were recorded years ago about giant sturgeon in the Clarion River…Every year, sturgeon worked their way out of the Allegheny River and up the Clarion River from the mouth in order to spawn…Once the oil wells and coal mines polluted the once clear waters, the giant sturgeon ceased to venture…” to these waters. (McCall, 59) Also, if oil ignited on land, the flames could travel to the oil in the water and move downstream, affecting a wider range of natural landscape. Other issues that threatened the environment were the mass debris and mud created by vast and continuous oil well operations. In terms of mud, this gives indications of soil erosions which drastically increased the chances for flooding such as the case for the July 26, 1879 flooding of Bear Creek. With the aided help of one of the heaviest storms ever known in the region, the creek flooded and the dam at railroad ridge above Petrolia gave way, flooding most of the town. Finally, the oil industry along with the many side industries created by oil caused much air pollution.
The major environmental hazard created by the oil industry was, of course, fire. Being a highly flammable substance, oil caused many fire outbreaks in many oil boomtowns. Such as the April 1st, 1879 fire in Petrolia and the April 4th, 1873 fire in the City of Parker (this fired destroyed the entire business section of the city). A major reason why fires were so common and why some of them were so devastating was due to the fact that oil boomtowns “…consisted entirely of light and flimsy constructed wooded buildings” (History of Butler County Pennsylvania 1883, 134) that were erected quickly to meet the demands of the springing population and crammed people into them to the utmost capacity. Of course, many oil businessmen and operators did not blame oil itself, nor take in consideration the implications of such close proximity construction. As seen in the April 4th, 1873 issue of the Oil Man’s Journal, “Petroleum, in one form or another, gets credit for being one of the most frequent originators of fires…so on through a long list of conflagrations in which petroleum is the first thing burned, it is accused of being the cause of fires…We suggest that a careful examination of the fire records of the country will show that nine out of ten of all the conflagrations have been either direct of indirect result of the criminality or the carelessness of men…” With this oil first attitude, the natural landscape of the Pennsylvania Oil Region was sacrificed greatly.
So, as seen, the oil craze of the 1860s and 1870s in Western Pennsylvania had many adverse effects on the landscape. Being geographically determined, this landscaped was sacrificed for the fortune driven minds for black gold by many Americans. This ideology of progress and prosperity saw many hazards of oil itself, flooding, air pollution, and fires to be inflicted onto the environment.
