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John Muir
founded Sierra Club in 1892; fought unsuccessfully to prevent the damming of the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park -
Lacey Act
prohibits interstate transport of wild animals dead or alive without federal permit -
Aldo Leopold
wrote A Sand County Almanac published a year after his death in 1948; promoted a "Land Ethic" in which humans are ethically responsible for serving as the protectors of nature -
Rachel Carson
published Silent Spring in 1962; documented the environmental damage done by DDT and other pesticides. Which heightened public awareness at the start of the modern environmental movement -
National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
protects rivers with due to aesthetic, recreational, wildlife, historical, or cultural reasons -
Garrett Hardin
published "The Tragedy of the Commons" in the journal Science in 1968; argued that rational people will exploit shared resources (commons) -
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
environmental impact statements must be done before any project affecting federal lands can be started -
Clean Air Act
set emission standards for cars, and limits for release of air pollutants -
Clean Water Act
set maxium permissible amounts of water pollitants that can be discharged into waterways. Aim: to make surface waters swimmable and fishable. -
U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act
prohibits taking marine mammals in the U.S. waters and by U.S. citizens, and the importing marine mammals and marine mammals products into the U.S. -
Endangered Species Act
identifies threatened and endangered species in the US, and puts their protection ahead of economic considerations -
Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA)
controls hazardous waste with a cadle to grave system -
Surface Mining Control & Reclammation Act
requires coal strip mines to reclaim the land -
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act (CERCAL)
the "superfund" act, designed to identify and clean up abandoned hazardous waste dumpsite -
Low-Level Radioactive Policy Act
all states must have facilities to handle low-level radioactive wastes -
Nuclear Waste Policy Act
US government must develop a high level nuclear waste site by 2015 -
Ocean Dumping Ban Act
bans ocean dumping of sewage and industrial waste -
Food Quality Protection Act
set pesticides limits in foods, and all active and inactive ingredients must be screened for estrogenic/endocrine effects
