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10,000 BCE
Agricultural Revolution
Nomadic tribes transitioned from hunting/gathering tendencies to settled agriculture. Not only did this provide a more ample food supply but also improved health due to more food diversity. -
Industrial Revolution
A period in which hand production was replaced by machines especially in the textile industry. This changed the way economies worked for the rest of history, and also opened up a new form of pollution. -
John Muir Born
John Muir was a environmental activist, writer, philosopher, and advocate of wilderness preservation. His several books highlighting his adventures in wilderness areas such as Yosemite Valley inspired people to take a look at resource consumption and preservation, launching generations of future environmental activists. -
Walden By Henery David Thoreau
The novel talks about Thoreau's experiment in which he lived two years, two months, and two days in the wilderness. Although at the time of it's release it was not received widely as time progressed Walden was praised as a literary masterpiece, highlighting the beauty of nature. -
Homestead Act
Enacted during the civil war in 1862 allowed anyone 160 acres of surveyed government land and could own it after cultivating and living on it for 5 years. This caused an influx of people as well as farms in the otherwise unsettled western United States, -
Yellowstone National Park Founded
A national park mostly centered in Wyoming, first national park as well as one of the largest. Known for it's natural beauty as well as it's geothermal features such as the famous "Old Faith full". -
Yosemite plus Seqouia National Park Founded
Established in 1890 most known for it's giant Sequoia trees, Located in California's sierra Nevada Mountain range was made a park by then president Benjamin Harrison allowing people to enjoy it's natural beauty for decades to come. -
Sierra Club Founded
Founded by John Muir in 1862, is one of the largest environmental organizations to date. Not only have they established millions of acres to set aside for preservation but also helped establish many bills such as the Clean Air Act, today they are still effective pushing towards environmental awareness as well as safety. -
Lacey Act Founded
Established in 1900 by US Representative John F Lacey and signed by William McKinley. One of the first major laws that has civil and criminal penalties for for violating specific plants and wildlife. -
Golden Age Of Conservation (Theodore Roosevelt)
There is a reason Theodore Roosevelt is referred to as the conservationist president. Throughout his whole political career he was committed to protected the environment and was able to set aside 230 million acres of public land he established, along with it 150 million was set aside to national forests. -
First National Wildlife Refuge Established
Established in 1903 was an area of public lands dedicated to conservation of wildlife as well as plants and fish. With the help of Theodore Roosevelt it was eventually expanded to over 150,000,000 acres -
US Forest Service Founded
An agency of the Department of Agriculture that covers the 193 million acres. Spends time putting out forest fires as well as research for ways to be more environmentally conscious. -
Aldo Leopold
Aldo Leopold was an author, philosopher scientist, ecologist, and environmentalist. Helped develop modern environmental ethics, and helped spark the movement for conservation. -
Audobon Society Founded
Established in 1905 is one of the oldest organization dedicated to environmental protection, establishing many conservation efforts such as bird watching field trips. Along with this they have state offices in 24 states and nature centers in several large cities. -
Gifford Pinchot
American Forester, activist, and 28th Governor of Pennsylvania. He was most known for role as the first Chief of the United States forest service combating wasteful behavior and was very aware of The Tragedy of the Commons. -
Antiquities Act
An act passed by Theodore Roosevelt giving the United States President the authority to create national monuments as well as public lands. Gave the executive branch much more power in conservation. -
US national Park Services Founded
An act signed by then President Woodrow Wilson which created a bureau in the Department of Interior that was responsible for protecting 35 national parks and monuments. -
Civillian Conservation Corps
To combat the economic distress caused by the great depression then President Franklin D Roosevelt approved this public relief program that gave young unmarried men jobs in conservation such as picking up litter as well as planting trees. -
Taylor Grazing Act
Established in 1934 is a United States federal law that regulates grazing on public lands as well as improving range conditions and use. -
Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act
An adhesive stamp needed to hunt certain birds such as ducks and geese. Also used to gain admittance into wildlife refuges. -
Fish Plus Wildlife Service Founded
Established in 1940 it's an agency of the Us government in the Department of Interior that's dedicated to the conservation as well as protection of fish, plants, and wildlife. -
Silent Spring Published (Rachel Carson)
A science book that highlights the adverse effects of pesticides on animals most notably birds and the environment around them. Although at first it was received with skepticism as time progressed Carson's findings were found true. -
Wilderness Act
Signed into law in 1964 Created the National Wilderness Preservation System dedicated to managing wilderness areas as well as protection -
Wild and Senic River Act
Signed into law by then president Lydon B. Johnson in 1968 allowed the government to designate certain rivers to the United States government for protection, preservation, and scientific research. -
Cuyahoga River in Ohio Caught Fire
A river in North Eastern Ohio that was so polluted that is actually caught fire. The disastrous event propelled environmental awareness for water pollution. -
National Enviormental Policy Act
An environmental law enacted in 1970 that promoted environmental awareness as well as the President's Council of Environmental Quality. -
First Earth Day
Founded by US Senator Gaylord Nelson on April 22, 1970. Earth day is now celebrated by over 193 countries world wide, dedicated to protecting the Earth for generations to come. -
Clean Air Act
Enacted in 1970 caused the government to take a major role in air pollution control. Regulated the emissions produced by factories as well as cars. -
Enviormental Protection agency Founded
Founded by Richard Nixon an agency in the federal government focused on enforcing regulations on environmental safety. -
FIFRA
FIFRA established in 1973 is a US law that set up pesticide regulations to protect the producer as well as consumer. -
OPEC and Oil Embargo
An oil crisis in 1973 that started in October when OPEC had risen the price of oil from $3 a barrel to $12 a barrel. The oil shock caused increased oil mining in the United States having environmental impacts. -
Endangered Species Act
Signed in 1973 provides the protection as well as conservation of specials that are endangered as well as threatened species and their respective ecosystems. -
Roland and Molina announced that CFC's are depleting Ozone Layer
Scientists Roland and Molina came to the conclusion that CFC's, Chlorofluorocarbons have done damage to the atmosphere, sparking a discussion about the ozone. -
RCRA
Enacted in 1976 the RCRA was a federal law that advised the proper way to dispose of solid as well as hazardous waste. -
Clean Water Act
Enacted in 1977 was a federal law covering water pollution and how to maintain bodies of water across the United States curving water pollution. -
Surface Mining Control and Reclimation Act
Established in 1977is a federal law that regulates coal mining for environmental reasons. It primarily regulates recovering abandon mines and maintaining ones in use. -
Love Canal NY
The love Canal disaster occurred when it was realized that over the course of 30 years 22,000 barrels of indistrial toxic waste were disposed in it. Many families had to relocate and many more developed cancer and other radiation related illnesses. Clean up had just been completed in 2004. -
Three Mile Nuclear Accident
Occurred in 1979 when reactor 2 of the Nuclear power plant had a partial meltdown. The environmental damage as well as the threat to public safety helped rekindle the anti-nuclear movement, total cleanup cost was $1 billion. -
Bhopal Island
One of the worst industrial disaster in recent history, occurred in 1984 when toxic chemicals from a plant leaked out to a local shanty town in India killing approximately 2,259 and even more indirectly through varying illnesses. -
CERCLA
A government program aimed at funding clean up sights for pollutants as well as areas contaminated by hazardous substances. -
Chernobyl
Occurred in 1986 Ukraine when the nuclear power plant had a severe meltdown and propelled large quantities of radioactive waste into the atmosphere. The explosion is the worst in history and resulted to the abandonment of the city as well as countless deaths. -
Montreal Protocol
A meeting between well over 100 nations to protect the ozone layer by limiting the amount of hazardous chemicals that would potentially extend the already existing damage. -
Valdez Oil Spill
Oil spill off coast of Alaska in which 11 to 38 million gallons of oil was dumped into the ocean. making it one of the worst oil spills in history. -
Energy Policy Act
Passed in 1992 it set goals for the need to established cleaner forms of energy as well as improve overall energy efficiency in the United States -
Desert Protection Act
Passed by then president Bill Clinton in 1994, it established death valley as well as Joshua Tree National Park and Mojave National Preserve in the California desert. -
Kyoto Protocal
An international treaty with 192 parties parties involved that works directly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to curve global warming and protect future generations. -
World Population Hits 6 Billion
After sharp population growth especially in the United States because of the baby boomers the world's population hits 6 billion sparking a global population on how many people the Earth can truly support and if we should in fact curve population growth. -
IPCC Climate Change
IPCC states that the amount of pollutants has greatly increased since 1750 and that the world is still consistently warming. -
BP Oil Spill in Gulf
Began on April 10 is the worst Oil spill in histroy with 210 million gallons of oil being spilled into the gulf resulting in major environmental damage,in the end BP was set to pay $18.7 billion in fines.
