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World's Population hits 1 billion
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Word's Population hits 2 billion
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Founding of IUCN
In Fontainebleau, France, the International Union for Conservation of Nature became the first ever environmental union. The IUCN examines human activities and their impact on earth, such as pesticides damaging biodiversity. The IUCN encourages cooperation to protect nature globally and guide conservation action. -
The Minamata Disaster
A petrochemical plant was dumping mercury into the bay of a fishing town in Japan, poisoning the fish consumed by the town’s people. A neurological disease named after the town developed, caused by severe mercury poisoning, resulting in brain and nerve damage. -
World's Population hits 3 billion
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Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring Published
An environmental science book was released, introducing a controversial subject of the planet's future and the harmful effects of DDT. Carlson calls for responsible action to save the Earth. It inspired the modern environmental movement. -
The Clean Air Act is Passed by Congress
The act was the first federal legislation concerning air pollution control. It authorized research on techniques to reduce pollution and monitor it nationally. -
Gaia Hypothesis
Introduced in the early 1970s, it suggests that the Earths surface is maintained from self-regulation which involves organisms working together in their environment. It was conceived by James E. Lovelock and Lynn Margulis. -
The First Earth Day
Millions of American citizens participated in parades, rallies, and educational programs across the nation. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin hoped to provide unity to the environmental movement and increase ecological awareness . It caused the Environmental Protection Agency to be established in July 1970 to regulate and enforce national pollution legislation, as well as leas to the Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts. -
Formation of EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)
The EPA integrated federal research, monitoring ,and enforcement activities into a single agency. It aimed to protect human health by shielding the air, water, and land which we consume and use. -
Ocean Dumping Act
The act bans dumping into the ocean material that would put human health and the marine environment at risk. Specifically:
No transportation of material from the US for purpose of ocean dumping.
No transportation of material from anywhere for the purpose of ocean dumping by U.S. agencies and/ or vessels.
No dumping of material transported from the U.S. into the U.S. territorial sea. -
World's Population hits 4 billion
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Whaling (save the whale)
Greenpeace set in motion the first anti-whaling campaign
It ignited a global “Save the Whales” movement which eventually led to help secure an international ban on whaling. -
Recycling becomes Curbside
Woodbury, New Jersey, becomes the first town to make its curbside-pickup program mandatory for residents, a system in place in every town throughout the U.S and the world. -
Bhopal
In Bhopal, India, a leakage of a toxic industrial chemical
MIC – a pesticide raw material with immense inhalation toxicity.
The death toll was 14,410 people and 200,000 to 300,000 people were injured in short and long term. Following the disaster, there was a global push for new environmental legislation which gave opportunities for NGO’s (non-profit organizations led by governments) and communities to be a part of developing environmental policies. -
Discovery of the Antarctic Ozone Hole
Scientists realized the Earth's ozone layer was thinning dramatically over the South Pole. It opened people's eyes to the global effects of human activity on the atmosphere. It was discovered that CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), long-lived chemicals, once reaching the stratosphere, released chlorine that catalyzes the destruction of the ozone -
Chernobyl Disaster
A Chernobyl reactor ruptured and released a huge amount of radioactive substances, contaminating more than 200,000 kilometers of Europe, including Belarus, Russia. and Ukraine. -
World's Population hits 5 billion
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Exxon Valdez Tank Spill
A manmade disaster in which Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker, spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound.
It was the worst oil spill in U.S. history up until 2010.
It took a major toll on wildlife, killing an estimated 250,000 sea birds, 3000 otters, 250 bald eagles, and 22 killer whales.
It led to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 which increased penalties for companies responsible for oil spills and mandated oil tankers in the U.S. waters have a double hull. -
Kyoto Protocol Adopted
Japan adopted the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC. It aimed to decrease industrialized countries' overall emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by at least 5 percent
It came into action on February 16th after being negotiated by over 160 nations. -
Toyota introduces the Prius, a hybrid car
In Japan, the first hybrid- electric gas vehicle is first made widely available to the public, jumpstarting a hybrid car movement that reduces CO2 emissions from vehicles significantly. -
World's Population hits 6 billion
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Documentary film An Inconvenient Truth released.
The documentary was inspired by the campaigning work of Al Gore and was meant to raise awareness of climate change and motivate people to act against it. It has played a big role in raising awareness of climate change to the public and has been used as an educational tool in schools since its release. -
World's Population hits 7 billion
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Paris Agreement
An international accord to combat climate change goes into effect to limit global temperature rises. -
U.S. Rejoins Paris Agreement
After Trump left the accords, the U.S rejoined them under Biden’s administration in 2021. The Paris agreement is an international treaty on climate change, aimed to decrease global warming and decrease global greenhouse gas emissions. It is an ambitious and binding agreement meant to unite countries for a common goal of combating climate change .