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Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
National Environmental Policy Act signed creating the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to give the President advice on environmental issues and review Environmental Impact Statements -
Earth Day
Earth Day celebration in San Francisco, organized by John McConnell -
Environmental Protection Agency
Environmental Protection Agency proposed by President Richard Nixon -
Whale Products
Whale product imports banned by Interior Department in one of Walter Hickel’s last acts as secretary -
OSHA
Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) bill passed by Congress. OSHA would be formed within the Department of Labor. Responsibilities include setting standards for employee exposure to hazardous substances -
Clean Air Act
Clean Air Act signed into law. The act sets a six-year deadline for the automobile industry to develop a 90% pollution-free engine. Within two years the deadline would be pushed back and standards watered down by the Nixon administration -
Greenpeace
The Phyllis Cormack, renamed Greenpeace, sets out from Vancouver to protest US nuclear testing on the Aleutian Island of Amchitk. A few months later, greenpeace is created. -
US whaling ends
US whaling ends, after US Secretary of Interior Walter Hickel put whales on the endangered species list -
Tuskegee syphilis study
Tuskegee syphilis study exposed by Associated Press and whistleblowers inside the Public Health Service. -
First bottle recycling bill passes in Oregon
First bottle recycling bill passes in Oregon -
DDT
Nationwide ban on the pesticide DDT takes effect -
Endangered Species Act passed by US Congress
Endangered Species Act passed by US Congress -
Safe Drinking Water Act
Congress passes Safe Drinking Water Act to be administered by EPA -
Hazardous Waste Transportation Act
Congress passes Hazardous Waste Transportation Act -
Gasoline
Federal court says EPA has authority to regulate leaded gasoline -
Department of Energy
U.S. Department of Energy is created by President Jimmy Carter -
Energy Tax Act
Energy Tax Act creates federal ethanol tax incentive of 5 cents per gallon, expanding use of ethanol in US. By the mid-1980s the idea of community based ethanol plants proves impractical as major grain processing companies move in to soak up the incentive -
Three Mile Island
Three Mile Island nuclear power plant loses coolant and partially melts down. This is a telling blow for the nuclear power industry, already under fire for safety problems in other plants, construction cost overruns and lack of planning for radioactive waste disposal
