I can't speak on a global scale, but in the US, it has been a long time coming.
Since colonists first settled here, they used agricultural practices that led to massive deforestation. Colonial consumerism led to colonists and Native Americans nearly wiping out fur-bearing species in an attempt to satisfy European fur trade.
On a psychological level, colonists built cities and walls and viewed themselves as civilized and able to conquer nature. Some of this ideology is also rooted in Christianity, with the idea that Man is meant to control and manipulate the land, as opposed to living in harmony with other living things. This created a divide between man and nature, and early Americans did not care that they were causing environmental damage.
The industrial revolution was when things started getting bad. Population started to grow, which led to larger cities. Transportation expanded, meaning more land had to be torn down and developed. The use of chemicals became common practice in factories, and water and air pollution became major health issues.
Transcendentalism artists like Thoreau and those of the Hudson River School brought the destruction of wild lands to the attention of the public. People began to realize the landscape scenery was becoming littered with human development and infrastructure.
As people moved west, they killed more animals and partook and activities such as strip mining, though population size was not as damaging as in the east. Advancements in farming technology such as barbed wire fencing and machines that led to monoculture production depleted the soil, and led to the dust bowl.
As east coast cities became larger, pollution and resource depletion became worse and worse. As the public became more aware, government worked to reduce pollution. Most environmentalist progress was made through the areas of Nixon and Carter. Reagan worked hard to put the interests of business over protecting the environment and the health of American citizens (remind you of anyone?), and tried repealing many progressive environmental acts. This somewhat backfired, as organizations such as Sierra Club and The Audubon Society grew in membership by massive amounts, kind of how the ACLU has grown due to the Trump Administration.
Source: I took an American Environmental History course last semester. This is as much of a summary I could give without my book or notes in front of me. Redditors, feel free to correct any errors I made or significant points I missed.
Unfortunately, we didn't get to learn in depth about the fossil fuel industry. Oil and gas likely have a large part to play in this story, so hopefully others can shed light on that.
TL;DR since colonialism Americans have been over-consuming resources and populations have been growing at exponential rates. Poor farming practices and the Industrial Revolution sped up these destructive tendencies. In the 20th century, citizens became more aware of the pollution caused by population growth and big corporations, and turned to the government to protect America citizens from industry that polluted for profit.