Environmental Movement Timeline

By Snyderb7644

  • 1 Billion Population

  • 2 Billion Population

  • Minamata disease

    In 1956, the Minamata disease was caused by excessive Methylmercury in ones diet usually caused by eating fish and shellfish contaminated by wastewater from a chemical plant.

  • 3 Billion Population

  • Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring Published

    Published in 1962, silent spring was the first major book about devastating effects of chemical pesticides which led to a revolution.

  • Clean Air Act

    The Clean Air Act of 1963 was put into effect by federal government To crack down on pollution.

  • The Club of Rome

    Founded in 1968, The Club of Rome is a nonprofit group lead by high powered officials to face pressing global issues, especially including climate change.

  • Santa Barbara Oil Spill

    In 1969, an oil drilling company requested a waiver for an oil platform because they had no time to weigh it. This was approved, and their shortcut caused an over-drilling accident that causes the biggest oil spill in U.S history at the time. This caused many environmental protection protests across the country and inspired the first Earth Day.

  • Gaia Hypothesis

    The Gia hypothesis was proposed by James Lovelock in 1972. It suggests that the Earth is one large living organism

  • Stockholm Conference (1972)

    The 1972 United Nations conference in Stockholm established a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from organic pollutants.

  • 4 Billion Population

  • Whaling (save the whale)

    In 1975, Greenpeace launched the worlds first anti-whaling campaign in Vancouver, Canada. This lead to the global “save the world” movement which banned commercial whaling.

  • Founding IUCN

    Founded in 1948 after an international conference in France. Members meet every 2-4 years to debate major policy issues. Pass laws regarding the conservation of earth

  • Bhopal Disaster

    In 1984, the Bhopal disaster was from an Indian gas chamber containing pesticides that leaked and killed 16,000-30,000 people.

  • Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior

    In 1985, French agents were charged for sinking The Rainbow Warrior, a Greenpeace vessel that was protesting nuclear testing near a French test site. The French denied any accusations.

  • Chernobyl

    In 1986 a nuclear reactor in Chernobyl, Ukraine misfunctioned releasing chemical nuclear waste into the wildlife nearby. The zone has been inhabitable since then.

  • Our Common Future

    Our Common Future was a report released by WCED in October 1987 which introduced the idea of sustainable development and how it could be accomplished.

  • 5 Billion Population

  • Earth (Rio) Summit

    In 1992, this summit was held by international powers in Brazil to make an affirmative plan to change sustainability. They created the Agenda 21 plan.

  • Agenda 21

    In 1992, Agenda 21 is an agreement among countries globally to sustain nature for the future and change sustainability for the better.

  • Kyoto

    In 1997, to prevent climate change an international agreement was met to lower greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide.

  • 6 Billion Population

  • 9/11

    The hijacking and crashing of commercial airplanes into the twin towers led to 3 months of toxic fumes and smoke which made a cloud of smoke and debris that clouded the atmosphere.

  • Documentary film An Inconvenient Truth released.

    Released in 2006, this film is about former vice president Al Gore’s attempt to stop global warming

  • Copenhagen Summit (2009)

    In 2009, the Copenhagen summit stated the Earth has heated by 2 degrees Celsius, but they failed to make an agreement on how to fix this issue and greenhouse gas emissions and was considered a failure.

  • 7 Billion Population