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(10,000 years ago:) Agricultural Revolution
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Industrial Revolution
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Thomas Mathus predicted that exponential population growth would outpace linear food production, leading to starvation.
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Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Walden is an American book written by Henry David Thoreau. The work is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, satire, and manual for self-reliance. -
Homestead Act
The Homestead Act allowed any adult citizen, or intended citizen, who had never borne arms against the U.S. government to claim 160 acres of surveyed government land. -
Yellowstone National Park founded
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American Forestry Association founded
The American Forestry Association is a non-profit conservation organization dedicated to protecting and restoring healthy forest ecosystems. -
John Muir
John Muir was a naturalist and conservationist; who has been referred to as "The Father of our National Parks," "Wilderness Prophet," and "Citizen of the Universe." -
Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks Founded
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General Revision Act
This act allowed Congress to reserve public forest lands and prevent them from being acquired through the various public land laws. -
Sierra Club founded
The Sierra Club is one of the oldest, largest, and most influential environmental organizations in the United States. Their purpose is to practice the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources; and get others to do so too. -
Lacey Act
The Lacey Act protects both plants and wildlife by creating civil and criminal penalties for a long list of violations. -
(1901-09:) Golden Age of Conservation (Theodore Roosevelt)
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First national wildlife refuge established
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U.S. forest Service founded
This is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands. -
Gifford Pinchot
Gifford Pinchot was a forester and politician who served as the first Chief of the United States Forest Service. -
Aldo Leopold
Aldo Leopold was an author, scientist, ecologist, forester, and environmentalist. His most famous book is titled A Sand County Almanac. He was influential in the development of modern environmental ethics and in the movement for wilderness conservation. -
Audubon Society founded
The National Audubon Society is an American, non-profit, environmental organization dedicated to conservation. -
Antiquities Act
This is an Act created for the Preservation of American Antiquities; which are ancient formations and structures. -
Congress became upset because Rossevelt was waving so much forest land so they banned futher withdrawals
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U.S. National Park service founded
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(1930's) Dust Bowl
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Civilian Conservation Corps founded
Robert Fechner was the head of the agency, which was a public work relief program in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families -
Soil Conservation Service founded
This is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners and managers. -
Taylor Grazing Act
This is a United States federal law that provides for the regulation of grazing on the public lands to improve rangeland conditions and regulate their use. -
Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act
This is a stamp required by the United States federal government to hunt migratory waterfowl such as ducks and geese. -
Fish plus Wildlife Service founded
This is a federal government agency in the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. -
Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall spend 50 years studying chimpanzee's. She changed our knowledge on these animals by discovering their human like behaviors. -
Silent Spring published by Rachel Carson
Slient Spring, written by Rachel Carson is widely credited with helping launch the modern American environmental movement. -
Wilderness Act
This law created the National Wilderness Preservation System, which protects around 110 million acres of wilderness areas in states throughout the nation. -
Garret Hardin introduced the Tragedy of the Commons
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Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
National Wild and Scenic River is a designation for certain protected areas in the United States, selected rivers in the United States are preserved for having outstanding scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural, or other similar values. -
(1969-1974) Richard Nixon
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Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, caught fire
The Cuyahoga River caught fire do to an oil spill and caused a big spur in the environmental movement. -
NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act)
This is a United States environmental law that established a U.S. national policy promoting the improvement of the environment and also established the President's Council on Environmental Quality. -
First Earth Day
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Environmental Protection Agency established
This is an agency of the U.S. federal government which was created for the purpose of protecting human health and the environment by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress. -
Endangered Species Act
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FIFRA (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Control Act)
This is an act designed to provide federal control of pesticide distribution, sale, and use. -
OPEC oil embargo
The OPEC oil embargo was when Arab oil producers declared an embargo that drastically limited the shipment of oil to the united states. -
Sherwood Roland and Molina Announce that CFC's are depleting the ozone layer
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RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act)
This Acts main goals are to protect human health and the environment from the potential hazards of waste disposal, to conserve energy and natural resources, to reduce the amount of waste generated, and to make sure that wastes are managed in an environmentally safe manner. -
Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act is the main federal law in the United States governing water pollution. -
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
This act is the main federal law that regulates the environmental effects of coal mining in the United States. SMCRA has two programs; one for regulating active coal mines and one for reclaiming abandoned mine lands. -
Love Canal, NY & Lois Gibbs (toxic waste leaks into residential houses)
Lois Gibbs discovered that her son's elementary school in Niagara Falls, New York was built on a toxic waste dump. later it was revealed that her entire neighborhood, Love Canal, had been built on top of this dump. So she organized her neighbors and formed the Love Canal Homeowners Association. -
3 Mile Island Nuclear accident
The Three Mile Island accident was a partial nuclear meltdown. The partial meltdown resulted in the release of small amounts of radioactive gases and radioactive iodine into the environment. -
Alaskan Lands Act
Thi act provided for 43,585,000 acres of new national parklands in Alaska, the addition of 53,720,000 acres to the National Wildlife Refuge System, twenty-five wild and scenic rivers, establishment of Misty Fjords and Admiralty Island national monuments, establishment of Steese National Conservation Area and White Mountain National Recreation Area, the addition of 56,400,000 acres to the Wilderness Preservation System, and the addition of 3,350,000 acres to Tongass and Chugach national forests. -
(1981-1989) Ronald Regan
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Bhopal,Indian (chemical toxic cloud kills 2,000 people)
A gas leak incident in India caused over 500,000 people to be exposed to methyl isocyanate gas and other chemicals. The toxic substance made its way in and around the shanty towns located near the plant. -
CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act= Super-Fund
The purpose of CERCLA is to clean up uncontrolled releases of specified hazardous substances. -
Chernobyl
This was an awful nuclear accident; an explosion and fire released large amounts of radioactive particles into the atmosphere. -
World Population reaches 5 billion
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Montreal Protocol
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is a treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion. -
Exxon Valdez
This is an oil spill which occurred in Prince William Sound. -
Energy Policy Act of 1992
This act is an attempt to fight growing energy problems, change US energy policy by providing tax incentives and loan guarantees for energy production of various types. -
Desert Protection Act
This act established the Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Parks and the Mojave National Preserve in the California desert. -
Julia Butterfly Hill sat in tree "Luna" for 700+ days to protest deforestation
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(1997-2005) Kyoto Protocol
This is an international treaty that sets binding obligations on industrialised countries to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. -
World population reaches 6 billion
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World population reaches 7 billion
