Environmantal Movement

By sierra.carter

  • Postwar Period

    On this date, the first piece of legislation was put to action about the quality of water. The Federal Water Pollution Act was passed by congress.

  • Air Pollution

    In Donara, PA, 20 people died and over 600 go to the hospital after sulfur dioxide emissions from a nearby steel and wire plant come out in the form of smog. The temperature increased making it worse by trapping the sulfuric poison in the valley of the town. This lead to the first U.S. conference on air pollution in 1950, sponsored by the Public Health Service.

  • Nature Conservacy in DC

    The Nature Conservancy is established in Washington, D.C. as a nonprofit organization with the mission to protect ecologically important lands and waters around the world.

  • Air Pollution Control Act is passed.

  • Silent Spring

    Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring is published. Acclaimed as the catalyst of the modern environmental movement, Silent Spring condemns the overuse of pesticides. Between 1950-1962 the amount of DDT found in human tissue had tripled.

  • Clean Air act passes

    The Clear Air Act passes, allocating $95 million for the study and cleanup of air and water pollution. The act gives the federal government authority to reduce interstate air pollution, regulate emission standards for stationary pollution sources, and invest in technologies that will remove sulfur from coal and oil.

  • Endangered Species

    The first legislation regarding Endangered Species passes, authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to list endangered domestic fish and wildlife ($15 million a year in the protection of such species.) The first list of Endangered Species – released in 1967 – will include the United States’ national symbol, the American Bald Eagle.

  • Earthrise

    The crew of Apollo 8 takes the first photograph of the Earth from space. The photograph, named “Earthrise,” will become the iconic image of the environmental movement.

  • GM

    General Motors' president Edward Cole promises “pollution free” cars by 1980, citing the removal of lead from gasoline and the addition of catalytic converters as means to stop deadly emissions.