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7000 BCE
Destruction of lush forests by Middle East cultures
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1500 BCE
Soil erosion caused by growth of Central American cities
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1275
Marco Polo brings coal to Europe
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First Gas Lights
This manufactured gas would be widely used in the US and Europe, creating a residual potential coal tar on the 21st centuary. -
New York bans use of batteries
The use of these guns for duck hunting is banned but repealed by the next year. -
US Congress enacts Shipowner's Limitation of Liability Act
The Congress limited the liability in the event of accidents such as oil spills. -
Tetraethyl Lead (TEL) discovered
First added to gasoline as an octane booster in 1921, it is later banned. Until 2012 it was possible to remove lead from gasoline. -
Prof. Augustine Mouchot built a solar machine
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US Civil War creates environmental problems
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John Tyndall explains the greenhouse effect
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The term Ecology is coined by Ernst Haeckel
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John D. Rockefeller incorporates the Standard Oil Company.
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Worst forest fire in North American history
The fire raged through northeastern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, killing thousands of people. -
Othman Zeider discovers chemical formula for the insecticide DDT
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Norway tracks first traces of acid rain
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August Arrhenius is the first to predict global warming from fossil fuel
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Almost all US towns have sewers
Towns with a population over 4000 have this system.
