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Frontier Era
A time of early development in the Americas where colonists viewed the wilderness as a force to be conquered with virtually inexhaustable resources. -
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Industrial Revolution
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Bengal Famine
Failure of the monsoons in the late 1760s contributed to the Bengal famine of 1770, during which 10 million people died. This forces a hange in tax policy in teh British Empire, which was a cause of the American War of Independence -
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Early Conservation Era
Marked by early conservationists, novelists, and activists, such as George Perkins Marsh and Henry David Thoreau -
Great Famine in Ireland, food shortages in Eurpoe
Unusually wet weather in Northern Europe causes crop failures. The worst crop affected was the potato on which both Ireland (the Great Famine) and Scotland (the Highland Potato Famine) were heavily dependent. Elsewhere in Europe, the food shortages lead to civil unrest and the revolutions of 1848. Counting the Irish diaspora and the forty-eighters, millions of Europeans emigrate to North America, South Ame
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Forest Reserve Act
The Forest Reserve Act
Established the idea that the government is responsible for protecting public lands -
Establishment of Pelican Island
President Theodore Roosevelt sets aside vast acres of federal forest land and creates the first national wildlife refuge at Florida's Pelican Island.
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Dust Bowl drought
Absence of rainfall northern hemisphere augmented by human activities causes the Dust Bowl drought of the US plains and the Soviet famine of 1932-1933 -
Publishing of Silent Springs by Rachel Carson
Rachel Carson's Silent
SpringThis impactful novel on the impact of insecticides, mainly DDT, on the environment and food webs sparked a movement of environmental awareness. -
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Arab oil boycott
Caused an energy crisis in western countires, spurred research and funding for renewable energy sources
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Love Canal movement against toxic chemicals
Toxic chemical from past industrial expedentures were seeping into the homes of the inhabitants of Love Canal, NJ, leading to illnesses among children, birth defects, and deaths. The town protested and lobbied Congress for their relocation. -
Union Carbide pesticide factory accident in Bhopal, India
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Signing of UNFCCC
The objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. The United States sign under condition that reduction of greenhouse gas emissions are purely voluntary. -
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Deforestation blamed for flooding in Haiti and the Dominican Republic
More than 2,000 people are killed during a week of torrential rains and flooding in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Environmentalists blame hillside deforestation for massive landslides that bury crops, animals, homes, and people. -
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Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine sactuary
President George Bush establishes the 140,000 square mile Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine N.M., the nation's largest national monument and the world's largest marine sanctuary. -
Congress declares that EPA has legal authority to regulate CO2 emissions
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Tsunami, earthquakes, and nuclear meltdowns in Japan
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Record high smog levels in urban centers lead to strenthening of Clean Air Acts
As the global population level exceeded sustainable levels, the demand for accelerated industrialization rose. Unfortunately, the demand for industrialization directly correlates with the increase in smog levels in urban centers, and the health of all species drastically decreased. This inspired the strengthening of Clean Air Acts in hopes of lowering levels of air pollution. -
Biggest global crop failure in history
Because of the degradation of soil and the overuse of nitrogenous fertilizers, crop failures began to occur throughout the globe. Unfortunately, this led to the biggest global crop failure in history, as a solution to the problem was not found. Without a reliable source of food production, millions of people were forced into poverty and inevitably died of starvation. -
UN issues an agreement to shift global focus toward improving sustainability
Due to the increasing issues regarding the degradation of the environment, the UN issued an agreement in order to shift global focus toward improving sustainability. In order to secure the future of the Earth, the UN decided to increase regulations on carbon dioxide emissions, waste, and energy usage in hopes of increasing global sustainability. -
Alternative farming techniques advert impending water crisis
Farming techniques have been adapted to take into account the depletion of water on a global scale. Farmers have shifted to farming practices that help to conserve water and renew depleted soils. By doing so, humans were able to increase the nutritional value of produce as well as solve the water crisis. -
Most industrialized countries reach net CO2 output of zero
With the increase in carbon dioxide regulations as well as the shift from industrialization to environmental sustainability, a majority of industrialized countries have reached a net carbon dioxide output of zero. With this, air pollution levels drastically decreased and the degradation of the ozone layer came to a halt.
