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Enviromental Law Timeline
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William Penn, save 1 tree for every 5 removed
Governor William Penn ordered colonists to conserve one tree for every five cut down. First law to conserve nature. Set the precedent for enviormental law in America. -
Lacey Act
The Lacey Act prohibited the transport of illegally obtained wildlife across state lines, and outlawed hunting in Yellowstone National Park. Preserved wildlife population and prevented the poaching of endangered animals. -
Roosevelt calls the possible extinction of the bison a "real misfortune"
President showed concern for wildlife for the first time in an address to congress. First time for government involvement with bison endangerment. -
Raker Act
After a seven year debate between environmentalists and Californians seeking water rights, Congress passed the Raker Act, authorizing the flooding of Hetch Hetchy Valley and the building of O’Shaughnessy Dam, in Yosemite National Park.
A major win for the enviromentalists in American history. -
National Park Service
Congress established the National Park Service. Today there are approximately 400 national parks across America, comprising approximately 4% of the entire U.S., or 84.6 billion acres of preserved land. National parks play a major part in nature preservation. -
New York v. New Jersey and Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners
New York sued New Jersey commissioners to stop dumping sewage in the New York harbor. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of New Jersey, and the dumping continued. Angered many people and drew attention to the enviroment. -
Salt Lake City conducts air pollution survey
First city to conduct a large scale survey about air pollution. -
Smog closes schools
Heavy smog conditions forced city officials to close schools in Los Angeles for most of the month of October, The event caused parents to become interested in how changes in the environment could affect their children. It also showcased that the damages could affect their everyday lives. -
Antarctic Waste Treaty
The Antarctic Treaty protected Antarctica from the dumping of nuclear waste. The importance is to prevent the countries from harming the environment from the dangerous waste that is spewed into the environment. -
Rachel Carson published Silent Spring
Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, which warned about the dangers of pesticides, especially DDT, to water supplies and wildlife.This enabled the government to take tintiatives to futher make the environment sustainable. -
Congress passes Clean Air Act
Congress passed the first Clean Air Act, which regulated air pollution and emissions. First evidence of the government true initiative. -
Congress passes Wilderness Act
Congress passed the Wilderness Act, establishing the National Wilderness Preservation System to “secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness.” Provided further conservation of the wilderness in order to create a spillover effect for the trees. -
Water Quality act
President Johnson signed the Water Quality Act to strengthen federal water pollution laws and outline water quality guidelines for states. This promoted the better usage and responsible useage of water and the users of it. -
Sierra v. Morton
Sierra Club ordered everyone to stop mineral king to stop any sort of building that they were doing. This provided a timeframe in which the litigation would prevent the building from keep on going. -
NASA reveals photo of Earth from Space
NASA reveals a photo of the "blue marble" from space that evokes a sense of utilitarianism and belongingness to all of the world. -
National Environmental Policy Act
The National Environmental Policy Act was one of the first laws to establish the broad national framework for protecting the environment. This allowed for more sustainability and conservation of the enviornment. -
The Pollution Free Car
General Motors president Edward Cole promised Americans “pollution free” cars by 1980. This was the start of the industrial side of America becoming interested in protecting the environment. -
Environmental Protection Agency Made
The Environmental Protection Agency was established to “create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony.” The creation of this agency was a first step in taking action to protect the environment instead of just voicing opinions. -
First Earth Day
The first Earth Day was celebrated by 20 million people across the country. The event caused a lot more people in the world to become aware of environmental issues. -
Environmental Commercial
The Ad Council and Keep America Beautiful first aired the “Crying Indian” commercial on nationwide television. This commerical was a big way of quickly spreading the word, and introduced ways of using the digital media to advertise. -
Endangered Species Act
Congress passed the Endangered Species Act to protect what are now known as Endangered Species from possible extinction. It is protecting the world's animals and governments are endorsing world-wide changes. -
Kyoto Protocol
This is when countries around the world came togather to reduce the effects of global warming. This is important because this showed the world that global warming is a big problem and we have to start now to reduce the effects -
Inconvenient Truth
Al Gore releases his movie about the facts of Global warming to aware the public of what is actually going on in the world. This is important because it showed the public the fatcs so there was no more uncertanty about what was happining. -
EPA issues new Air quality standers
this is significant because it put a limit on small particles that can't be seen, These small particles come into the air from car exhaust and factories -
Massachusetts vs. EPA
Massachusetts files a lawsuit against the EPA for not establishing greenhouse gas requirements. This is important because the court favored in Massachusetts favor, leading the EPA to regulate in all 50 states. -
Earth Concerts
Famous musicians come togather to raise money and awarness over climate change. This is important because with more celebrities indorsing the fact that climate change is happening more people will reconize the problem
