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population hits 1 billion
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2 billion
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Love canal
After the selling of the now filled in canal (for only a dollar). In the late 50s around 100 homes and a school were built on top of this toxic land mine waiting to be discovered. Just months after an EPA journal written in 1978 the love canal exploded. This explosion was triggered by immense rainfall. The aftereffects were dire. Many children were harmed, or the babies were born with birth defects. Houses and schools inhabitable. Air unbreathable. Waste deposits in plain sight everywhere. -
Minamata disaster
The Minamata Disease was discovered in 1956 (near Minamata Bay) in the Kumamoto Prefecture. It was discovered again in 1965 in the Agano River basin in Niigata Prefecture. From the start of the disease they had been making a concerted effort to find the cause. In 1968 they had discovered it was caused by methylmercury contamination in the shellfish and fish people were consuming. The methylmercury had been coming from a chemical plant. The effects of the disease are detrimental. -
3 billion
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Silent Spring
Silent Spring was published in 1962. Silent Spring outlined how DDT was affecting the environment and though at first it seemed good it had a horrible impact. The pesticide was invented in 1939 (it first started to show itself during WWII which started in 1939) the pesticide killed malaria-causing insects for US troops while being used as a delousing powder in Europe (Delousing powder kills lice and nits). In 1945 it was available for civilian use. In 1958 Carson started her book. -
Stockholm Conference
The UN conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm, Sweden from the 5th to the 16th of June in 1972. It was attended by 113 "Member States" of the UN as well as other members of the UN. There were many governmental papers received including 86 national reports on the environmental issues. -
Endangered species act
Various species of wildlife and plants are now extinct because of our lack of conservation during our large periods of economic growth and expansion. The endangered species act is a way to help conserve and protect these species that are in danger of extinction and even making efforts to enlarge their population. Many treaties and laws have been passed to advocate for these efforts. -
4 billion
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Bhopal disaster
Approximately 40 tons of methyl isocyanate gas leaked from a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India. This event single handedly killed almost 4,000 people. The after effects caused premature death for thousands more people. It is one of the worst industrial accidents in modern history. Since this incident India has industrialized rapidly with little regulation which has caused other issues that can only partially be the blame of this disaster. -
Chernobyl meltdown
The reactor was flawed in design causing the meltdown in the first place. The after effects of the meltdown made the surrounding area uninhabitable. -
5 billion
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Montreal Protocol
The agreement was signed in 1987 however it took effect in 1989. The Montreal Protocol enforced the reduction of products that depleted the ozone layer. Since then we have switched to more sustainable products and our ozone layer has returned to a more safe level that allows us to continue to inhabit earth. -
Kyoto Protocol
The UNFCCC committed the industrialized countries and economies transition to a limit to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Since then it has reduced the emissions into the atmosphere and significantly helped the biosphere. -
6 billion
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Documentary film An Inconvenient Truth released
In 2006 the film was released. After the films release there were parties on both sides both advocating and also ridiculing the documentary. Since the release many of the things mentioned have been slowly coming to fruition. Proving that many of the studies were not as exaggerated as some critics would suggest. -
7 billion
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8 billion