USA HISTORY

WESTWARD EXPANSION INDUSTRIALIZATION URBANIZATION 1870 1900

WESTWARD EXPANSION

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
Which was NOT an impact of the railroad on the natural environment?
A
growth of crops
B
increase in mining
C
blasting tunnels in mountains
D
water and air pollution
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -The railways, together with the positive influence on the economic development of the regions in which they were built, have caused irreparable damage to the environment. They destroyed natural landscapes, led to the death and reduction of wildlife populations, polluted the air and created an unbearable noise.

Detailed explanation-2: -Railroads became a major industry, stimulating other heavy industries such as iron and steel production. These advances in travel and transport helped drive settlement in the western regions of North America and were integral to the nation’s industrialization.

Detailed explanation-3: -But there was also a dark side to the historic national project. The railroad was completed by the sweat and muscle of exploited labor, it wiped out populations of buffalo, which had been essential to Indigenous communities, and it extended over land that had been unlawfully seized from tribal nations.

Detailed explanation-4: -The environmental effects of transport are significant because transport is a major user of energy, and burns most of the world’s petroleum. This creates air pollution, including nitrous oxides and particulates, and is a significant contributor to global warming through emission of carbon dioxide.

There is 1 question to complete.