Environmental timeline

  • Minamata Disaster

    The Minamata disease was a poisoning that happened in humans who ate fish and shellfish that were contaminated by MeHg that was put into water from a chemical plant. In May of 1956 was when they first discovered the disease. The symptoms that were common were sensory and auditory disturbances ataxia dysarthria. If a mom was pregnant and they ingested fish or shellfish it would poison the fetus. The symptoms that were caused by this were serious.
  • Rachel Carson's Silent Spring Published

    Rachel Carson wrote a book about how the pesticides are harmful on the environment, she says that pesticides should be called biocides. DDT was established to be a chemical carcinogen that causes liver tumors in mice and accused representatives.
  • Stockholm Conference

    The Stockholm Declaration, which contained 26 principles, placed environmental issues at the forefront of international concerns.
  • Endangered Species Act

    It is the act of importing, taking, selling, exporting, and moving threatened species
  • Love Canal

    The drums leaked and contaminated the soil and ground water, causing problems all around. There were also some houses built after they filled in the canal. Toxic chemicals leached into the soil and water, causing health problems like respiratory issues, cancers, blood diseases, miscarriages, and still births
  • Bhopal Disaster

    • On December 3 1984, there was more than 40 tons of methyl isocyanate gas leaked from a pesticide plant in India. It immediately killed around 3,800 people and causing death for many more deaths.
  • Chernobyl Meltdown

    The Chernobyl accident in 1986 was the result of a flawed reactor design that was operated with inadequately trained personnel.
    • The resulting steam explosion and fires released at least 5% of the radioactive reactor core into the environment, with the deposition of radioactive materials in many parts of Europe.
    • Two Chernobyl plant workers died due to the explosion on the night of the accident, and a further 28 people died within a few weeks because of acute radiation syndrome
  • Montreal Protocol

    The Montreal Protocol is a global agreement that aims to protect the ozone layer by reducing the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances (ODS)
  • Kyoto Protocol

    The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty adopted in 1997 that aimed to reduce the emission of gases that contribute to global warming.
  • An inconvenient Truth released

    An Inconvenient Truth, American documentary film, released in 2006, featuring the multimedia presentation of former U.S. vice president Al Gore that formed the basis for his traveling lecture tour on the emerging human challenge of global warming and climate change.