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George Perkins
George Perkins was considered the first true environmentalist. He wrote a book called Man and Nature, which inspired and set the groundwork for the conservation movement of the 20th century. The conservation movement spawned the national forest service, the forest reserves, and Arbor Day to list a few. -
Henry David Thoreau
Born in concord Massachusetts, Henry David Thoreau was a bright young man who followed the teachings of transcendentalism. During his life, he decided to live near a pond for two years and eventually wrote a book that was titled after the pond, Walden. This book accounted his experiences and his thoughts as he endured the elements while living alone near this pond. Due to the record of his experiences and the motion he started, he is often referred to as the Father of Environmentalism. -
John Muir
John Muir was born in Scotland and sought to explore the world on foot. He picked up jobs on his journey and one left him temporarily blind. Once his sight returned, he devoted all his time to nature and walked from Indiana to Florida. Then, in 1876 he published a series of articles urging the government to enact conservation policies. He would eventually take a trip with Theodore Roosevelt and shape the president's conservation policies and help create Sequoia and Yosemite National parks. -
Theodore Roosevelt
Often referred to as the conversationalist president, Theodore Roosevelt is often recognized as one of this nations most influential presidents. To list a few of his achievements, he created 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, 4 national game preserves, and 5 national parks. He also founded the Antiques Act, which allowed presidents to declare sections of federal land national monuments. During his time as president, he protected a total of 230 million acres of public land. -
The Antiquities Act
The Antiquities Act was passed by President Roosevelt on June 8th, 1906 and extended the presidential power. This power now allowed the president to make national monuments from federal lands using presidential proclamation. This act was used by Roosevelt for the first time September 28th, 1906 to establish the fist national monument called Devils Tower in Wyoming. This Act has been used hundreds of times since it's establishment, but can often be controversial. -
Rachel Carson
Rachel Carson kicked off the huge environmental movement that happened in the 60's and 70's with her best seller silent spring, which warned about the death of songbirds due to the pesticide DDT. This pesticide worked wonders, but was eventually banned in the US due to it decimating bird populations. This pesticide was especially harmful to large birds of prey like Bald Eagles, who couldn't incubate their nests properly due to the egg shells being too thin from the DDT. -
The Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl was the culmination of poor farming habits, habitat destruction, and ignorance. During the 1930's farmers in the great plains experienced severe droughts and heavy winds, and because most of the grass that once grew in the soil was gone and the crops couldn't grow nothing could hold the soil down. As a result, giant dust storms swept across the great plains destroying nearly all of the topsoil. The problem was solved with a joint effort between a few New Deal groups and services. -
The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act was an act passed in 1938 in order for the FDA to oversee the safety of food, drugs, and cosmetics. The purpose for this act being passed was the death of 100 patients dying due to an unsafe medication. This act would replace the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. This act improved the quality of all products under it's effect and would eventually include medicinal devices. -
OSHA
OSHA is an acronym for the Occupation Safety and Health Act and was put into effect on April 28th, 1971. The act was passed in order to ensure that workers would be free from exposure to toxic chemicals, excessive noise levels, excessive heat or cold, and other factors that would be detrimental to ones health. When this act was put into effect, 14,000 workers died a year, and 2 million were left injured or disabled. This act has been successful in reducing injury and mortality in the workplace -
The Love Canal Incident
The Love Canal Incident happened in Love Canal New York, where toxic chemicals were dumped until 1953. These harsh chemicals were placed in a canal that had been dug during the construction of William T. Love's "Model City". These chemicals would later be buried and the site sold. Homes were built on top of the site, and people often complained about odors. Eventually after a storm raised the water level, sledge began eruption in peoples yards which eventually led to the area becoming vacant. -
TMI Nuclear Accident
The TMI Nuclear Accident occured in Dauphin County Pennsylvania and was the result of human error and a valve being stuck. The result was the decommissioning of the second reactor at TMI that had failed, and 1 billion dollars spent on cleanup. The state government had recommended that people evacuate the area around the reactor and schools were closed. 98% of people returned to their homes 3 weeks after the incident, and this event helped push the anti-nuclear movement that would occur. -
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Explosion
The Chernobyl Disaster was the result of negligence and poor design. During a stress test on the ill prepared plant, the core caught fire and began spewing radioactive fallout into the atmosphere. The damage was widespread across Europe and the western USSR. The intial environmental damage was acute, but eventually the Chernobyl site became a large undeclared wildlife sanctuary, due to the fact that people don't live there. -
The Montreal Protocol
The Montreal protocol was enacted after the discovery of a massive hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica. This hole was still growing and the UN enacted the Montreal Protocol in order to stop it's growth and allow the hole to close. To do this, countries would need to ratify the act and commit to reduction in the use of ozone depleting chemicals. This was the first bill to be universally ratified in the UN and has seen great success over the last three decades. -
The Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a UN policy that was enacted with a goal to reduce emissions in industrialized countries. The Protocol helps countries set and meet goals that help reduce their contribution to climate change. The most recent goal set was to reduce emissions to 18% below the average of 1990. While the protocol is occasionally seen as unsuccessful, it allowed the world to aline their views together to set a global goal. This shift in perspective on environmental issues has led to success. -
BP Gulf Coast Oil Spill
The largest accidental oil spill in history, the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill resulted in extensive environmental damage in the Gulf of Mexico. What began in April of 2010 still wasn't completely sealed by 2012 and oil was still leaking into the gulf. Most animals born during this time died, or developed deformities to the heart shortening their lives. In July 2015, BP agreed to pay a total of 18.7 billion in fines, which is the largest corporate settlement in US history. -
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