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Jan 1, 1500
Agricultural Revolution-10,000 years ago
10,000 years ago -
Industrial Revolution
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Thomas Malthus
Malthus wrote 'An Essay on the Principle of Population' about the dangers of too large a population. -
Population: 1 billion
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John Muir
John Muir was a naturalist who wanted preservation in the U.S. He founded the Sierra Club in 1892 and wrote six books on his experiences in nature. -
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Walden (Life in the Woods) was a book to help people understand that they were wasting resources and using more than they needed to survive. -
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Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt founded the Boone and Crockett Club in 1887 to conserve water, wildlife, and natural resources. While in office, he created over 50 wildlife refuges. In 1902, he established the Reclamation Service, which helped make lands suitable for farming. -
Homestead Act
The Homestead Act was created to get settlers out into the West and improve the land, which was then given to them freely or very cheaply. -
Yellowstone National Park founded
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American Forestry Association founded
The AFA was founded to help conserve forests and share information. It has changed over the years and is still active today. -
Sequoia National Park founded
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Yosemite National Park founded
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General Revision Act
This act repealed the Timber Culture and Preemption Acts and meant that the President could create forest preserves easily. -
Sierra Club founded
The Sierra Club was an environmental organization founded by John Muir to help protect the Sierra Nevada. -
Lacey Act
The Lacey Act says that plants and animals can't be used in trade if they've been illegaly captured. It was illegal to capture animals in one state and sell in another, so that only the native animals would stay in their own states. -
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Golden Age of Conservation
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First national wildlife refuge established
Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge -
Aldo Leopold
Aldo Leopold wrote A Sand County Almanac, in which he criticized the usage of natural areas, and wanted to conserve wildlife. -
Audubon Society founded
The Audubon Society was created to protect birds and aimed to conserve resources. -
U.S. Forest Service founded
The USFS was founded to support the health of our country's forests and grasslands, and to conserve natural resources. -
Gifford Pinchot
Pinchot was the first leader of the USFS and aimed to preserve resources and protect forest reserves. -
Antiquities Act
The Antiquities Act states that certain areas of land (owned by the government) cannot be used. This land is set aside for preservation or is turned into a National Monument or National Park. -
Congress became upset with Roosevelt
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U.S. National Park Service founded
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Population: 2 billion
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Dust Bowl
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Soil Conservation Service founded
The Soil Conservation Service was formed to combat soil erosion and reduce harmful impacts on the environment. -
Civilian Conservation Corps founded
The CCC was founded by Theodore Roosevelt as part of the New Deal program. It created about 250,000 jobs, which provided food, clothing, and housing for those who took them. These people worked in national forests and other such places. -
Taylor Grazing Act
The Taylor Grazing Act regulated grazing and managed rangeland to improve the condition of the land and to help protect public lands from overgrazing. -
Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act
This act required anyone hunting migratory birds to possess a stamp issued by the federal government, sometimes called a duck stamp. The majority of the money gained from selling these stamps is used to preserve and protect wetlands. -
United States Fish and Wildlife Service founded
The FWS was created to manage and protect fish, wildlife, and their habitats. They were created when lower fish populations were noticed, for the purpose of finding a solution. -
FIFRA
FIFRA is the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, which was the first legislation against pesticides. Standards were set for quality and safety for all chemicals being used in this way. -
Population: 3 billion
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Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall is most well-known for her studies on primate behaviors and the fact that she is the only human being to be accepted into chimp society. -
Silent Spring published by Rachel Carson
Silent Spring was a book written by Rachel Carson that helped to lauch the environmentalist movement. The book pointed out that DDT was harmful to organisms other than insects, including humans. -
Clean Air Act
This was the first version of the act, which legislated air pollution and established programs. -
Wilderness Act
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Air Quality Act
This act was created to increase federal involvment in air quality. It also authorized more studies on air quality and pollution. -
Garret Hardin & Tragedy of the Commons
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Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
This act prevents rivers from undergoing any development that would change their nature. Over 150 rivers currently have the status of wild or scenic river. -
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Richard Nixon (enviro perspective)
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Cuyahoga River
The Cuyahoga River is incredibly polluted, with oil slicks, trash, and debris floating on top of the water. This has led to numerous fires, but the 1969 fire was the one that TIME magazine wrote about. This led to major changes and an effort to clean up rivers. -
First Earth Day
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NEPA
NEPA was an environmental law that made federal agencies assess the environment and the impact that we have on it. -
EPA established
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Clean Air Act of 1970
The act called for both state and federal legislature on emissions and pollution. -
Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act regulates water pollution and aims to stop the releasing of toxic substances into water, keep water healthy for human use and recreation, and stop contamination. -
OPEC Oil Embargo
OPEC stands for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. In 1973, they put an embargo on oil due to support of Israel by other countries, including America. Oil prices went through the roof, and a recession followed. -
Endangered Species Act
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Population: 4 billion
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Rowland and Molina
Discovered that certain things (chlorofluorocarbons) lead to the destruction of the ozone layer. -
RCRA
The RCRA is the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, which aims to reduce waste, manage waste, conserve energy and resources, and protect the health of both the population and the environment. -
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977
These amendments added more requirements for air quality control and established permit requirements. -
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
This act was made up of two main programs; one was intended to reclaim mining areas that were no longer in use, and the other to regulate still-active coal mines. -
Love Canal, NY
Love Canal was a neighborhood in which toxic chemical waste had been dumped and buried beneath the neighboorhood. This was seen as a lack of concern for the health and safety of the population and the environment. -
Lois Gibbs
A woman who lived in Love Canal, NY, and became an environmental activist after the discovery of the chemical waste. -
Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident
The Three Mile Island nuclear accident was a meltdown of a nuclear power plant, which released radioactive gases and iodine into the environment, causing injuries to the surrounding population. -
Alaskan Lands Act
The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act added a significant amount of acreage to the National Wildlife Refuge System, the Wilderness Preservation System, and the Tongass and Chugach national forests. -
CERCLA/Superfund
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act -
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Ronald Reagan (enviro perspective)
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Bhopal Diasaster
This was the world's worst industrial diasaster; a gas leak occurred in Bhopal, India, and the death toll (including deaths from related injuries) is supposedly around 16,000. -
Chernobyl Diasaster
This accident is said to be the worst nuclear accident ever. The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine exploded and released large amounts of radioactive material. -
Population: 5 billion
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Montreal Protocol
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was a treaty between nations aimed on eliminating the usage of substances believed to be harmful to the ozone layer. -
Exxon Valdez
The Exxon Valdez was an oil tanker that spilled 260,000 to 750,000 barrels of crude oil into the ocean. This was the largest oil spill ever in US waters, and was very harmful to the oceanic life. -
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990
These amendments added regulations for acid rain and certain types of permits. Programs for controlling pollution were expanded as well. -
Energy Policy Act of 1992
This act addressed things such as energy efficiency, energy conservation and management, alternative fuel sources, radioactive waste, and renewable energy. -
Desert Protection Act
The California Desert Protection Act of 1994 established the Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Parks and the Mojave National Preserve. It also added 69 wilderness areas to the National Wilderness Preservation System. -
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Kyoto Protocol
166 nations grouped together in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, as well as those of other harmful gases. The U.S. withdrew support, and there was not enough support in general for much efficiency. -
Julia "Butterfly" Hill
Julia Hill stayed in a giant redwood tree for 738 days in order to protest the cutting down of trees and destruciton of forests. -
Population: 6 billion
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Population: 7 billion
