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Love Canal
Originally an abandoned canal that turned into a dumping ground for nearly 22,000 tons of chemical waste, in the 1940’s and 50’s. The love canal was very bad for women going through pregnancy because it was very harmful to the babies. -
Minamata disaster
First in the city of Minamata, Japan 1956. Caused by the release of methylmercury in the wastewater from a Chisso corporation factory that went from 1932 to 1968. When people and animals ate the fish, it led to serious illness. -
The Kyshtym disaster
The Kyshtym disaster, sometimes referred to as the Mayak disaster or Ozores disaster in newer sources, was a radioactive contamination accident that occurred on 29 September 1957 -
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring Published
Summary description: Rachel Carson watershed work silent spring was published on September 27, 1962. It was originally serialized in the new yorker magazine it shed light on the damage that man-made pesticides inflict on the environment. -
Stockholm Conference
Summary description: It was an international conference convened under united nations auspices held in Stockholm Sweden. The conference was on international environmental issues. -
Endangered Species Act
Endangered Species act of 1973, to protect endangered and threatened species/ plants and their habitats. -
Amazon wild fire
Congress passes the Clean Air Act expanding it in 1970 1977 and 1990 and ratifies the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty ending testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere. -
Italy’s Seveso Dioxin Cloud
A cloud formed by a chemical plant sickens at least two thousand people and causes 80,000 animals to be slaughtered to keep the poison from entering the food chain. -
Bhopal disaster
Summary description: it was a leak in the city of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh in India. The leak was a bunch of dangerous gas methyl isocyanate escaped from an insecticide plant. -
Chernobyl meltdown
Summary description: Chernobyl meltdown in 1986 was a result of a flawed reactor design that was operated inadequately. It caused steam explosion and fires released at least 5% of the radioactive reactor core int the environment. -
Montreal Protocol
Summary description: The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The Montreal Protocol regulates the production and consumption of nearly 100 manmade chemicals referred to as ODS. -
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
Oil tanker spills 10.8 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound after striking a reef. Pollutes 1,300 miles of coastline, killing 250,000 seabirds, 3,000 sea otters, and 250 bald eagles and billions of salmon eggs. -
Kyoto protocol
It operationalizes the United Nations framework convention on climate change. Aimed to reduce the emission of gases that contribute to global warming -
The Jilin chemical plant explosions
The Jilin chemical plant explosions were a series of explosions which occurred on November 13, 2005, in the No.102 Petrochemical Plant in Jilin City, Jilin Province, China, over the period of an hour -
Documentary film An Inconvenient Truth released.
Arose international public awareness of global warming and reenergizing the environmental movement. There is a moral imperative to act to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.