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10,000 BCE
Agriculture Revolution
Before the Agricultural Revolution humans obtained food by hunting and gathering, which meant constantly following the animals. During this time they discovered farming and found it possible to settle down and start small villages that grew larger and larger. The agriculture rev. also led to the domestication of animals and led to the lifestyle we live today. -
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution brought an increased variety of manufactured goods and it improved the standard of living. Prior to the revolution manufacturing was done in people’s homes with basic tools, industrialization marked the change to machinery, mass production, and factories. The rev. led to an increase in population that led to the depletion of natural resources. -
John Muir was born
Muir was a Scottish-American author, environment philosopher, and early advocate of the U.S forest conservation, also perhaps the country’s most influential and famous naturalist. John Muir founded the Sierra Club and helped establish Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks. His legacy lived on in his establishments of parks and his well-known articles. -
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Walden was a book written by Henry Thoreau that reflected the simple living in natural surroundings. Thoreau went to live in the woods by a pond for two years outlining his own philosophy of life and nature, he expressed his concerns of how industrialization and war altered their world. -
Homestead Act
The Homestead Act was passed by President Abraham Lincoln on May 20,1862. The act encouraged migration to the West by providing 160 acres of public land. Homesteaders were required to to complete five years of residency before receiving ownership of the land. -
Yellowstone National Park Founded
Yellowstone is the world’s first national park that spreads in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. Yellowstone features canyons, rivers, forests, hot springs, and geysers it is also the home to hundreds of different animals. -
American Forestry Association Founded
The AFA is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and restoring healthy forest ecosystems. The mission of the AFA is to “ help preserve the health of our planet for the benefit of its inhabitants.” -
Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks Founded
Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks are located in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, they are known for its giant, old sequoia trees, the Tunnel View (Yosemite), and the Crystal Cave (Sequoia). -
Sierra Club Founded
The Sierra Club is now the nation’s largest and most influential environmental organization that was founded on May 28, 1892 by preservationist John Muir. This club helped passed the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act and is trying to move from fossil fuels to a clean energy economy. -
Lacey Act Founded
The Lacey Act was a U.S law passed in 1900 to ban illegal trading in wildlife, in 2008 the law was amended to include plants and its products. It is the world’s first ban on trade in illegally sourced wood products. -
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Golden Age of Conservation (Theodore Roosevelt)
As president Theodore Roosevelt was concerned about the environment and did everything in his power to protect it. Roosevelt established the forest service and other programs to help national parks conserve these beautiful ecosystems -
First National Wildlife Refuge
President Roosevelt created the first U.S national wildlife national refuge on March 14, 1903. He turned Pelican Island into a sanctuary and breeding ground for native birds. -
US Forest Service Founded
The US Forest Service was established within the Department of Agriculture. The agency was created to sustain healthy and diverse forests and grasslands for present and future generations. -
Gifford Pinchot
Gifford was an American forester and politician, he served as the first Chief of the U.S Forest Service. Pinchot, with President Teddy’s approval, restructured the management of national forests, he also helped increase their area and number. -
Aldo Leopold
Aldo Leopold was an American author, ecologist, preservationist, philosopher, and environmentalist. He stressed the importance of biodiversity and ecology, was the founder of the science of wildlife management. -
Audubon Society Founded
In 1905 the Audubon Society for the Protection of Wild Birds and Animals was founded in New York. It is a non-profit organization that established a strong national voice for conservation. -
Antiquities Act
This act signed by President Roosevelt and passed by the Congress on June 8, 1906. The Antiquities Act gives the president the authority to restrict the use of particular public land owned by the federal government. -
US National Park Service Founded
NPS is an agency of the U.S federal government that manages all U.S national parks, many American national monuments, and other historical property. The NPS is in charge of preserving the ecological and historical integrity while also making them accessible to the public. -
Civilian Conservation Corps Founded
Formed in March 1933 CCC was one of the first New Deal programs. It was a public work project made to promote environmental conservation and build good citizens through disciplined outdoor work. -
Taylor Grazing Act
The Taylor Grazing Act signed by President Roosevelt was created to prevent overgrazing and soil deterioration on public grazing lands. It helped stabilize the livestock industry that was dependent on the public grazing lands. -
Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act
President Roosevelt signed to Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp/Duck Stamp Act which was a firm action to stop the destruction of wetlands vital to the survival of migratory waterfowl. 98 cents of every stamp dollar was used to ensure there will be land for the wildlife. -
Fish plus Wildlife Service Founded
The USFWS is an agency of federal government which is dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. Their major responsibilities are for migratory birds, endangered species, marine mammals, freshwater fish, and etc. -
Silent Spring published by Rachel Carson
SIlent Spring is a true story composed of examples from real communities where the use of DDT (insecticide) had caused damage to wildlife, birds, animals, domestic dogs, and humans. Rachel believed that humans were misusing chemical pesticides before knowing the full extent of harm it causes. -
Wilderness Act
The Wilderness Act is considered one of America’s greatest conservation achievements. It created a way to for Congress and Americans to designate “wilderness areas” which represents the nation’s highest form of land protection. -
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
Wild and scenic designation protects the free-flowing rivers in non-federal areas, the designation essentially vetoes the licensing of new hydropower projects that directly affect the river. Also provides protection against bank and channel alterations. -
Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught Fire
On Sunday, June 1969 Cuyahoga river caught on fire causing about $100,000 worth of damage to two railroad bridges. The river was contaminated with lots of oil due to pollution from decades of industrial waste which let it catch on fire more quickly. -
National Environmental Policy Act
The NEPA was one of the first laws that laid out the national framework for the protection of our environment. NEPA’s policy is to make sure that all branches of government give proper consideration to the environment before undertaking any major federal action that affects the environment. -
First Earth Day
Senator Nelson was disturbed that the importance of our environment was not portrayed enough in the media or politics so he created Earth Day on April 22, 1970. AN estimated 20 million people nationwide attended and it eventually led to the legislation Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. -
Environmental Protection Agency Founded
EPA was established on December 2, 1970 to bunch together in one agency a variety of federal research, monitoring, and enforcement activities to ensure environmental protection. EPA has been working for a cleaner, healthier environment for the American people. -
Clean Air Act
The Clean Air Act is United States most influential environmental law made to control air pollution on a national level. It started state laws for for industrial and mobile sources of pollution and it provides funds for research on air pollution. -
Endangered Species Act
The ESA was written on December 28 and provides conservation of species that are endangered or threatened and the preservation of their ecosystems. According to ESA species are considered endangered if it is in danger of extinction throughout all or a portion of its range. -
FIFRA: Federal, Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Control Act
FIFRA is a U.S federal law that sets up a system of pesticide regulation to protect applicators, consumers, and the environment. Its an act for preventing the manufacture, sale, or transportation of misbranded insecticides, fungicide, and etc. -
OPEC and Oil Embargo
The Arab-dominated OPEC announced to cut oil exports to U.S and other countries that provided military aid to Israel in the Yom Kippur War. After the full oil embargo U.S and other nations dependent on oil fell into a serious energy crisis, in 1974 the embargo was lifted. -
Rowland & Molina announce that CFC’s are depleting the Ozone Layer
They announce that CFC’s are depleting the ozone layer because they discovered that CFCs decompose in sunlight, releasing chlorine which converts ozone to oxygen. They published their findings and it eventually leads to the Montreal Protocol. -
RCRA: Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
RCRA is the federal law in the United States governing the disposal of solid waste and hazardous waste. The Congress created RCRA because of the increasing problems the nation faced from its growing volume of municipal and industrial waste. -
Clean Water Act
It is the primary federal law in the US that has to do with water pollution. Pollutants regulated under CWA include toxic chemicals, oil and grease, pH and etc. -
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
The SMCRA is the federal law that regulates the environmental effects of coal mining in the United States. SMCRA made two programs; one for regulating active coal mine and the other for handling abandoned coal mines. -
Love Canal, NY
Love Canal was an abandoned canal project that was set near the Niagara River, the partially dug canal was used as a chemical waste dump with 21,000 tons of toxic chemical. Disaster unfolded when a series of diseases, abnormally high rates of birth defects, and miscarriages took place in the Love Canal neighborhood due to the toxic substances leaching into homes. -
Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident
On March 1979 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania a combination of stuck valves and poor decisions led to a partial meltdown of the reactor core and release of radioactive gases into the air. Although the health effects were not serious it still led to immediate shutdown of certain plants. -
Bhopal Island
The Bhopal gas tragedy was a gas leak incident in India, it was considered the world’s worst industrial disaster. The disaster killed an estimate between 3,000-6,000 people. -
Chernobyl
Chernobyl, nuclear plant located in Ukraine is known as the world’s worst nuclear accident to date. It led to thousands of deaths and 70,000 injuries, the land many not be livable for another 150 years. -
CERCLA (Superfund)
CERCLA was started in response to some shocking and unsafe hazard wastes practices and management. Its purpose is to identify sites where hazardous materials threaten the environment or public health as result of spillage, leakage, or mismanagement. -
Montreal Protocol
The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by trying to lessen the use of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion. Scientific theory and evidence states that certain compounds could significantly deplete the stratospheric ozone layer that shields the planet from damaging UV-B radiation. -
Exxon Valdez Disaster
On March 24 Exxon Valdez struck Bligh’s Reef located along the coast of Alaska. Over the days the ship spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil into the ocean, 1,300 miles of shoreline was affected by oil spill. The cleanup effort cost 2.1 billion dollars and took four summers to clean. -
Energy Policy Act
The Energy Act was passed by the Congress to increase use of cleaner energy and to improve overall efficiency in the United States. The act includes various measures created to lessen the nation’s dependence on imported energy, to motivate others to use cleaner energy, and to promote energy conservation in buildings. -
Desert Protection Act
This act is a federal law passed by the Congress and signed by President Clinton to help preserve California’s desert area. It helped establish the Death Valley, Joshua Tree National Parks, and the Mojave National Preserve. -
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Kyoto Protocol
This protocol is an international agreement which commits the involving nations by setting internationally binding emission reduction targets. The protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations because they are principally responsible for current high levels of GHG in the atmosphere. -
World’s Population hits 6 Billion People
On October 12 the world population reached 6 billion marking a huge milestone in human history. Due to the Industrial Rev. new advances in medicine, a change in lifestyle, and etc helped the population growth skyrocket. -
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IPCC Report on Climate Change
This is the fourth report since 1990, IPCC offered its strong view on Earth’s climate warming and how humans are the largely responsible for it. The report states that the Earth has warmed causing sea levels have begun to rise at an accelerated rate. -
BP Oil Spill in the Gulf
The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is the worst one in U.S history resulting in the death of 11 people. An estimated of 3.19 million barrels of oil had leaked out onto the ocean, killing almost 4,500 animals
