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Clean Water Act
First Clean Water Act passes US Congress. -
Car Pollution
US Congress funds two-year Public Health Service study on air pollution from cars. -
Kennedy and War Weapons
US President John. F. Kennedy tells the United Nations: "Every inhabitant of this planet must contemplate the day when this planet may no longer be habitable .. The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us." -
Buck Laws
Ohio canceled the deer hunting season due to a scarcity of deer, leading to the adoption nationwide of "buck laws," which promote the hunting of bucks only -
Oil Pollution
“Oil Slick is Shroud for Birds” (Washington Post) Oil pollution at sea is a serious issue. Oil tankers at sea, “the dumping of old crankcase oil and the pumping of oily water from bilges” are major causes of the oil pollution. The most widespread cause of death among sea birds is from oil. Insulating air pockets are destroyed which is s a cause of drowning. The seriousness of this issue has been recognized.. Whilte it is illegal to dump oil within 50 miles of a coastline, ships continue to d -
White House Conference
White House Conservation Conference held. -
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty between U.S. and U.S.S.R. (Russia) stops above ground tests of nuclear weapons. -
Senate Subcommittee on Air and Water Polution
Senate Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution created. US Congress passes Clean Air Act with $95 million for study and cleanup efforts at local, state and federal level. See former Sen. Edmund S. Muskie's article, "The Clean Air Act: A Commitment to Public Health." -
Hazel Henderson-Citizens for Clean Air
Hazel Henderson organizes Citizens for Clean Air in New York. -
National Wilderness Preservtion System
Congress creates National Wilderness Preservation System "to secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness." The system initially contained 9.1 million acres of wild lands, but by 2001 there were about 90 million acres of wilderness preserved in the United States. Text of the Act is available from Wilderness System web page. A history is also available from the Wilderness Society. -
Weather inversion incident
Weather inversion creates four day air pollution incident in New York City; 80 die. -
Water Quality Act
Congress passes Water Quality Act setting standards for states. -
Fermi No. 1
Fermi No. 1 fast metal breeder nuclear reactor in Detroit, Michigan loses coolant and partially melts down. (See John G. Fuller, We Almost Lost Detroit, Readers Digest Press, 1975). -
The Grand Canyon
Sierra Club publishes appeals in the New York Times and Washington Post to stop building a dam that would flood the Grand Canyon. The following day (perhaps coincidentally?), the IRS notifies the Sierra Club that it has suspended its tax-exempt status. The ad said simply, "This time it's the Grand Canyon they want to flood. The Grand Canyon." -
Outer Space Treaty
Outer Space Treaty is signed to prohibit placement of nuclear weapons in orbit around Earth -
Environmental Defense Fund
Environmental Defense Fund established. -
Redwood National Park
Redwood National Park established in California. -
Robert F Kennedy
March 18 -- Robert F. Kennedy speaks at the University of Kansas: -
Santa Barbara oil well
Santa Barbara oil well blowout off the Santa Barbara coast of California spills 235,000 gallons of oil and covers 30 miles of beach with tar. Well is capped Feb. 8. -
Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth founded.
