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Philadelphia committee
Philadelphia committee led by Benjamin Franklin attempts to regulate waste disposal and water pollution. -
Walden
Henry David Thoreau publishes Walden -
Ecology
The term ecology is coined in German as Oekologie by Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel -
Acid rain
The term acid rain is coined by Robert Angus Smith in the book Air and Rain -
Air pollution
The term smog is coined by Henry Antoine Des Voeux in a London meeting to express concern over air pollution -
National park service
US Congress created the National Park Service -
Brown v Board of education
A consolidation of five cases into one that was decided by the Supreme Court and effectively ended racial segregation in public schools -
Emmett Till
He was a 14 year old boy from Chicago until he was murdered in Mississippi for allegedly flirting with a white woman. -
Rosa Parks
She refused to give up her seat to a white man on the bus. -
Little rock nine
The little rock nine was blocked from integrating into Little Rock central high school. President Dwight D. Eisenhower eventually sends federal troops to escort the students but they were still continued to be harassed. -
Silent Spring
Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring -
March on Washington
Approximately 250,000 people took part in it for Jobs and Freedom. Martin Luther King also gave his I Have a Dream speech as the closing address in front of the Lincoln Memorial. -
Bomb 16th street
A bomb at 16th street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama that killed four young girls and injures several other people. -
Civil rights act of 1964
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs it into law preventing employment discrimination due to race, color, sex, religion, or national origin. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
President Johnson signs it to prevent the use of literacy tests as a voting requirement. -
Earthrise
The Apollo 8 picture of Earthrise -
Martin Luther King jr
Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated on the balcony of his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee. James Earl Ray is convicted of murder in 1969. -
Fair Housing Act
President Johnson signs it providing equal housing opportunity regardless of race, religion or national origin. -
First earth day
First Earth Day – April 22. Millions of people gather in the United States for the first Earth Day. US Environmental Protection Agency established -
Montreal Protocol
Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer entered into force -
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol was negotiated in Kyoto, Japan in December. Countries commit to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide -
U.S. rejects
U.S. rejects the Kyoto Protocol -
Paris agreement
U.S. announces it will cease participation in the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation -
Rejoin Paris Agreement
U.S. announces it will rejoin the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation