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The Federal Water Pollution Control Act is passed by Congress.
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The Nature Conservancy is formed.
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A steel and wire plant in Donora, PA causes 20 people to die and more than 600 people are hospitalized from sulfur dioxide emissions.
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The Air Pollution Control Act is passed.
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The Federal Water Pollution Control Act is amended.
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More than 200,000 gallons of oil were spilled into the ocean, over the span of 11 days, after the Santa Barbara oil well exploded.
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Silent Spring is published.
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The Clear Air Act is passed.
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The Water Quality Act is passed.
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The Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act is passed.
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Wild and Scenic Rivers Act as well as the National Trails System Act are passed.
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The first national Earth Day is celebrated.
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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is created, employing more than 4,000 people.
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The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is established.
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Denis Hayes created a movement to replace 12 Congress members who had tainted environmental policy records. Seven were removed.
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The Marine Mammal Protection Act is passed.
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Coastal Zone Management Act is passed.
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DDT is banned in the U.S.
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Period: to
Because of the Arab Oil Embargo, energy demands surpassed U.S. supplies.
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The Energy Supply Act and Environmental Coordination Act are passed.
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The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act is passed.
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The Toxic Substances Control Act is passed.
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President Jimmy Carter establishes the Department of Energy.
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The Nimbus-7 spacecraft is launched as the first satellite with the technology to take comprehensive worldwide measurements of the ozone layer.
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The meltdown of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, PA, causes the evacuation of 140,000 people.
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Solar heaters are installed on the White House roof in support of Carter’s Federal Solar Research Institute.
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Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act is passed.
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The Montreal Protocol is signed by 24 countries to phase out ozone-depleting CFCs by the year 2000.
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The Ocean Dumping Ban Act is passed.
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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is formed.
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The Exxon Valdez tanker spills 11 million gallons of oil into the ocean, covering over 1,300 square miles.
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The war in Iraq leads to widespread oilfield burning and other war-related environmental problems.
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California is the first state to impose a cap on greenhouse gas emissions.
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Lacey Act is amended.
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Over a billion gallons of sludge spills out of a holding dam near Kinsport, TN.
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EPA issues limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.
