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Period: to
Enviromental Laws and Treaties
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National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
protects rivers with due to aesthetic, recreational, wildlife, historical, or cultural reasons.
CAUSE: Upon witnessing the loss of hundreds of miles of great rivers to water development projects and hydropower, paddlers were among the first activists who advocated for a Wild and Scenic Rivers system to protect our nation's last free-flowing rivers. -
Lacey Act
Prohibts interstate transport of wild animals dead or alive without federal permit
CAUSE: In 1900, illegal commercial hunting threatened many game species in the United States.
** Not really April 14 -
Clean Air Act (CAA)
Law that established national limits to how much pollution can be emitted. Goal is to reduce pollution in the air.
CAUSE: In October 1948, a thick cloud of air pollution formed above the industrial town of Donora, Pennsylvania. The cloud which lingered for five days, killed 20 people and caused sickness in 6,000 of the town's 14,000 people. In 1952, over 3,000 people died in what became known as London's "Killer Fog." The smog was so thick that buses could not run without guide
** not real date -
Clean Water Acts (CWA)
It set national water quality goals and created pollutant discharge permits.
CAUSE: come to the realization that protection of America's waters is needed.
** not real date -
US Marine Mammal Protection Act
prohibits taking marine mammals in US waters and by US citizens, and the imposrting marine mammals and marine mammal products into the US.
CAUSE: It was based on that some marine mammal species or stocks may be in danger of extinction or depletion as a result of human activities
** Not real date -
Endangered Species Act
identifies threatened and endangered species in the US, and puts their protection ahead of economic considerations.
CAUSE: consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation.
** not real date -
Safe Drinking Water Act
set maximum contaminat levels for pollutants that may have adverse effects on human health
CAUSE: Discovery of organic contamination in public drinking water and the lack of enforceable, national standards persuaded Congress to take action. -
Surface Mining Control & Reclamation Act
requires coal strip mines to reclaim the land.
CAUSE: coal being mined with little regard for environmental consequences
* not real date -
Toxic Waste Law
Superfund law passed to clean up abandoned toxic waste dumps
CAUSE: people realized that toxic waste pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of, or otherwise managed. -
Nuclear Waste Policy Act
US government must develop a high level nuclear waste site by 2015
CAUSE: they are running out of places to store nuclear waste
** not real date -
Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act
all states must have facilities to handle low-level radioactive wastes.
CAUSE: during the 1940s and early 1950s LLW was dumped in the oceans or buried into shallow unlined landfills. Throughout history, the U.S. has dealt with complex policy adjustments pertaining to nuclear waste management.
** not real date -
Ocean Dumping Ban Act
Bans ocean dumping of sewage sludge and industrial waste
CAUSE: everything was dying because of it -
Food Quality Protection Act
set pesticide limits in food, & all active and inactive ingredients must be screened for estrogenic/endocrine effects.
CAUSE: people were getting sick due to what was being put in their food -
Montreal Protocol
phase out of ozone depleting substances.
CAUSE: people began studying the impacts of CFCs in the Earth's atmosphere.
