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10,000 BCE
Neolithic Agricultural Revolution
People began growing crops in groups which prospered civilisations. -
Invention of Seed Drill
Jethro Tull was an agronomist who invented the seed drill which improved and facilitated the growing of crops and it was the most important inventions of the Industrial Revolution as farmers were facilitated in their everyday job. -
1800s Beginning of Industrial Revolution
Improved machines and factories increased the productions of goods as well as an increase in pollution. -
Mississippi River Flood
The flood inundated 16 million acres of land, displacing nearly 640,000 people in states from Illinois to Louisiana. In Vicksburg, Mississippi, the river swelled to 80 miles wide . The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 will go down in history as one of America's greatest peacetime disasters. -
Dustbowl in North America
When people realised that agricultural practices affect soil and climate. -
Green Revolution
A great increase in production of food grains (such as rice and wheat) due to the introduction of high-yielding varieties, to the use of pesticides, and to better management techniques which increased pollution. -
Carson's 'Silent Spring'
In 1962 Rachel Carson published her book 'Silent Spring' documenting the adverse environmental effects caused by the indiscriminate use of pesticides. The title refers to the lack of birds in spring (so they don't sing, hence silent spring) as they would be extinct due to pesticides. -
Greenpeace foundation
Fortunately in 1971, a small group of people in Canada created the non-governmental environmental organisation named Greenpeace that helps prevent the extinction of animals as well as protecting the ecosystems in over more than 50 countries around the globe. -
Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster
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. To this day it is dangerous to visit the city of Chernobyl as it is extremely radioactive and the risk of DNA damage and getting cancer is too high.