When it comes to defending personal health from polluting factors, it all depends on the contemporary knowledge and severity of pollution. You could say it's just as old as polluting itself, or atleast sever polluting. Early on, lacking knowledge of health effects, you'll mostly come across smell or breathing complaints. It's also very regionally defined. For example, Venice has a long-lasting tradition of battling environmental pollution. However, standing up for the environment when there is no visual or causal consequence to human or animal life, is generally more of a recent evolution. Nature used to be awe-inspiring and dangerous, not beautiful and precious. This change mostly coincided with the occurence of the Enlightenment. The increase of human power over nature and the spread of scientific explanations changed how humanity understood nature.

To be honest, it's difficult to provide a satisfactory answer to this question. I'd advise you to read the following book if it really interests you :

• Radkau Joachim, Nature and Power: A Global History of the Environment, Cambridge University Press, 2008.