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10,000 BCE
Agricultural revolution
This was when people started to shift from nomadic hunting to farming. It was also known as the Neolithic Revolution and provided many benefits like more livestock and improved crop yield. https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-agricultural-revolution-timeline-causes-inventions-effects.html
https://www.quora.com/What-were-the-effects-of-the-Agricultural-Revolution -
Industrial Revolution
When the shift from an agricultural society evolved into industrialization the nation started to see more manufacturing processes. It included things like the cotton gin, the transcontinental railroad, and even electricity. https://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution -
John Muir birth and what he founded
An environmental organization called the Sierra Club was founded by Jon Muir along with the Sequoia and Yosemite national parks. https://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Muir -
Walden by Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau wrote the book, Walden, in 1854 about living surrounded by nature in his cabin. The book reviewed and emphasized the observations he made about nature. https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/90/walden-or-life-in-the-woods/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden -
Homestead Act
Signed by Abraham Lincoln, this act gave farmers public government land at a lower price. However, the applicant had to be 21 or older, as well as the head of the household. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-homestead-act
http://filmessaymason.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-homestead-act.html -
Gifford Pinchot
Pinchot was the 28th governor of Pennsylvania and also led a conservation movement. He is known as America's first forester and has a national park named after him. https://www.doi.gov/blog/gifford-pinchot-legacy-conservation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gifford_Pinchot -
Yellowstone Park founded
Yellowstone was first national park that was started for more natural reserves to be created with government permission. https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/historyculture/yellowstoneestablishment.htm
https://www.nps.gov/features/yell/slidefile/history/1946_1999/structures/Page.htm -
American Forestry Association founded
John Aston Warder found the American Forestry Association as an organization to help preserve our natural parks. https://www.google.com/searchq=American+Forestry+Association+founded&rl
http://landscapeonline.com/research/article-a.php?number=9894 -
Aldo Leopold
Leopold was very concerned about how industrialization worked in the natural world. He was known to be a conservationist, forester, and ecologist who wrote books about protecting the ecosystems. https://www.aldoleopold.org/
https://www.aldoleopold.org/about/aldo-leopold/ -
General revision act
An outline that ensured Congress' right to reserve land from monopolies or corporations that try to take over. It was signed by Benjamin Harrison. https://envirotimeline.wordpress.com/1891/01/01/general-revision-act/
https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/the-first-period-1780-s-1800-s-by-julia-flum-economics-environmental-science -
Sierra Club founded
Founded by John Muir, it is the largest environmental organization today that focuses on protecting wild area and finding new ideas to improve the ecosystem. http://vault.sierraclub.org/history/timeline.aspx
http://www.ncsierraclubfoothills.org/ -
Lacey Act
A law that creates rules for the protection of plants, wildlife, and possibly regulating illegal trade between plants and animals. http://forestlegality.org/policy/us-lacey-act
http://www.luxepremiumfloors.com/lacey-act-compliant.html -
Golden Age of Conservation
Theodore Roosevelt designated public land as federal wildlife reserves during this time. This allowed him to triple the size of the national reserve and make a goal to protect the land. https://www.sutori.com/item/1901-1909-now-called-the-golden-age-of-conservation-theodore-roosevelt-made-i-9986
https://www.sutori.com/item/golden-age-of-conservation-theodore-roosevelt-1901-1909-theodore-roosevelt-w -
First national wildlife refuge established
Theodore Roosevelt established the first national wildlife refuge which strove to protect birds from going extinct. https://www.fws.gov/refuges/friends/history.html
https://www.fws.gov/refuge/umatilla/aboutNWRS.html -
Us forest service founded
This service manages public lands in national forests and grasslands to provide better water and timbers for the lands. It's one of the largest forestry organizations in the world. https://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1602.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Forest_Service -
Audubon Society founded
The Audubon Society is an organization, still present to this day, who is dedicated to the advancement of the conservation mission with the use of science and education. https://www.google.com/searchq=Audubon+Society+founded&rlz=1CAQZUX_
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Audubon_Society -
Antiquities Act
This act gave presidents the power to reserve historic landmarks and protect archaeological sites on U.S. owned land that would be considered national monuments. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/legal/american-antiquites-act-of-1906.htm
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/legal/american-antiquities-act-of-1906.htm -
Us National Park Service founded
The U.S. National Park Service under federal law includes monuments, historical sights, and numerous parks that were taken care of and monitored by authorities there. https://www.nps.gov/articles/npshistory-creation.htm
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._National_Park_Service -
Dust Bowl
In the midwest, a drought hit with winds and dark clouds that ruined livestock and caused many of the farmer's soil to be eroded. Many people were forced to move out of the areas and find a living some where else. https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/dust-bowl
https://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2012/11/13/dust-bowl-drought/1691507/ -
Civilian Conservation Corps founded
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a program that gave numerous jobs, a lot of them in relation to the environment, to men who were unemployed during the Great Depression. https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/civilian-conservatio
http://internetbrothers.org/2013/09/09/great-smoky-mountains-national-park-to-mark-80th-anniversary-of-civilian-conservation-corps/ -
Taylor Grazing Act
This act was enacted to stop overgrazing and to transform/improve range lands to a permit based system to limit the number of animals grazing in a single area. https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/leasing-public-range-taylor-grazing-act-and-blm
https://thesouthwestjournal.com/tag/taylor-grazing-act/ -
Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act
This act, otherwise known as the Duck Stamp Act, was enacted to require waterfowl hunters to purchase a federal hunting stamp. It was believed this would stop the destruction of the wetlands and save some of the bird such as duck or geese. https://www.fws.gov/birds/get-involved/duck-stamp/history-of-the-federal-duck-stamp.php
https://www.sutori.com/item/1934-migratory-bird-hunting-stamp-act-it-requires-each-waterfowl-hunter-16-ye -
Soil Conservation founded
The Soil Conservation Act was passed during the Dust Bowl to give aid to farmers and landowners who were dealing with soil erosion issues from the strong winds and dust. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/about/history/?cid=nrcs143_021392
http://vaswcd.org/history-of-the-conservation-movement6 -
OPEC
Countries that produce oil come together to make the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries which controls how much oil each country is able to produce. www.yourdictionary.com/opec
https://www.slideshare.net/3vikasvicky/opec-organization-of-petroleum-exporting-countries-53539021 -
Silent Spring/Rachel Carson
Rachel Carson issued Silent Spring to bring attention to how the pesticides people used were harming the environment by bringing medical problems to people, hurting animal populations, polluting streams, etc. https://www.biography.com/people/rachel-carson-9239741
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Spring -
Wilderness Act
The Wilderness Act enabled the community to protect natural lands by getting wilderness areas which were restricted from having roads or permanent structures built on them. More than 100 million acres were put aside for this. https://www.wilderness.net/nwps/legisact
https://wildernesswatch.org/wilderness-act -
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
An act passed by Congress to keep specific rivers clean and orderly so that they will last longer in future years. https://www.rivers.gov/wsr-act.php
https://www.missoulaevents.net//05/26/2018/50th-anniversary-of-the-wild-scenic-rivers-act/ -
Cuyahoga RIver in Cleveland Ohio catching fire
In June, the Cuyahoga River caught fire from oil pollution build up that caused thousands of dollars of damage to two railroad bridges. https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/63
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Cuyahoga_River_Fire -
First Earth Day
U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson was an activist in the environmental movement who established the first Earth Day to bring more attention to the issue. https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/earth-day-turns-45and-dpl-conservation-collection-turns-55 -
Environmental Protection Agency established
In the U.S. federal government it's an agency responsible for ensuring the safety of human/environmental health. http://npic.orst.edu/reg/epareg.html
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/environmental-protection-agency.asp#ixzz5RVqMLKRP -
Clean Air Act
A federal law that is used to make sure air pollution/quality is controlled throughout the nation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_Air_Act_(United_States)
https://www.environmentalleader.com/2017/02/house-committee-will-hear-ways-improve-clean-air-act/ -
CFC’s depleting ozone
CFCs are chlorofluorocarbons that rise into the stratosphere and release chlorine atoms that react with ozone molecules which causes the depletion of the ozone layer. https://www.epa.gov/ozone-layer-protection/basic-ozone-layer-science
http://www.theozonehole.com/ozonedestruction.htm -
NEPA
The National Environmental Policy Act was created to ensure the government makes smart decisions in any federal actions that would hugely impact the environment. https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-national-environmental-policy-act
http://conservefish.org/2015/11/02/americas-fish-need-nepa/ -
Clean Water Act
Previously known as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, it ensures that pollutants in surface waters, rivers, wetlands, and other important water areas are being controlled. https://www.inc.com/encyclopedia/clean-water-act.html
https://us130urbansustainability.wordpress.com/2017/04/14/clean-water-act-3/ -
Endangered Species Act
This act was created to have a system of protection for endangered/threatened species and the habitats they live in. https://www.fws.gov/international/laws-treaties-agreements/us-conservation-laws/endangered-species-act.html
http://www.mitchellchadwick.com/2018/08/feds-solicit-comment-on-endangered-species-act-reform/ -
RCRA
Known as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, it ensures that hazardous and non-hazardous waste is being taken care of properly in the public. https://www.epa.gov/rcra
https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/what-is-rcra -
Surface mining Control and Reclamation Act
This law controls how coal mining affects the environment by overseeing active coal mines and gaining old mine lands. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_Mining_Control_and_Reclamation_Act_of_1977
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouOmd4omwh8 -
Love Canal, Ny
Love Canal was a community of houses that sat on top of thousands of industrial underground waste that began to become apparent in the backyards and cellars of people's houses. This led to people selling their houses to the government and moving out the area. http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1986457_1986501_1986441,00.html
https://buffalonews.com/2018/06/01/new-lawsuit-claims-love-canal-chemicals-still-causing-health-problems/ -
3 mile island nuclear accident
At a United States nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, a cooling malfunction caused one of the reactors to release radioactive gas that caused concerns about radiation effects in the surrounding area. However, it didn't harm or affect the local residents. http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/three-mile-island-accident.aspx
https://www.ydr.com/videos/news/local/2017/05/30/what-three-mile-island-nuclear-accident/102307086/ -
CERCLA
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act/Superfund was created to tax chemical and petroleum industries and acknowledge the potential releases of hazardous substances to the public. https://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-cercla-overview
https://www.hazardouswasteexperts.com/what-is-cercla-and-why-is-it-important-2/ -
Alaskan Lands Act
Known as the National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980, it gave 79.5 million acres of government land in Alaska for refuges and some of the land was made into wilderness. https://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/alaskcn.html
https://www.slideshare.net/dancer118/alaska-national-interests-lands-act-1345079 -
Bhopal chemical toxic cloud
In Bhopal, India, 30 tons of methyl isocyanate was released along with other toxic gases at a pesticide plant which exposed around 600,000 people to them. There were thousands of deaths along with side affects of throat burning, nausea, etc.
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/12/bhopal-the-worlds-worst-industrial-disaster-30-years-later/100864/
https://lightartacademy.com/blog/history/magnum-photographer-raghu-rai-traces-back-the-tracks-of-bhopal-gas-tragedy-a-striking-photo-story/ -
Chernobyl
A nuclear power plant in Ukraine had a poorly built reactor and was not being effectively checked for safety which cause many fatalities from radiation and was also considered a cause of the thyroid cancer cases in the area. https://www.nei.org/resources/fact-sheets/chernobyl-accident-and-its-consequences
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2018/04/visiting-chernobyl-32-years-after-the-disaster/559016/ -
Montreal Protocol
An international treaty that was signed to start protecting the ozone layer by slowing getting rid of the substances that were depleting it. https://blogs.state.gov/stories/2017/09/14/en/saving-ozone-layer-celebrating-30-years-montreal-protocol
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Protocol -
Exxon Valdez
Occurring in Alaska's Price William Sound, the Exxon Valdez was an oil tanker that spilled 11 million gallons of oil and became the biggest oil spill of its time. https://www.history.com/topics/1980s/exxon-valdez-oil-spill
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/03/the-exxon-valdez-oil-spill-25-years-ago-today/100703/ -
Desert Protection Act
President Clinton and Congress signed this law that created the Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Parks and the Mojave National Preserve in the California desert. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Desert_Protection_Act_of_1994
https://wilderness.org/article/california-desert-protection-act -
FIFRA
A U.S. law, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, regulates the distribution of pesticides to look out for the safety of the environment and consumers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Insecticide,_Fungicide,_and_Rodenticide_Act
https://www.hazardouswasteexperts.com/fifra-primer-pesticide-regulation-and-compliance/ -
World population hits 6 billion
October 12, 1999, the UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) estimated the world's human population as 6 billion and called it the "Day of 6 Billion". http://earthsky.org/human-world/this-date-in-science-6-billion-humans-and-counting
https://people.howstuffworks.com/population-six-billion.htm -
Energy Policy Act
This act was enacted by Congress to try and reduce increasing energy problems in the communities and create jobs in the future that use safe and reliable energy. https://www.energy.gov/downloads/energy-policy-act-2005
https://www.homelectrical.com/energy-policy-act-2005.6.html -
Kyoto Protocol
A treaty created in Japan that set limits on greenhouse gas emissions for industrialized nations. It's watched over by the UN and 28 nations in the European Union have signed it. https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/Kyoto-Protocol
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol
