-
Population: 1 billion
-
Population: 2 billion
-
Founding of IUCN
On October 5, 1948, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN for short, was founded. Since its founding in France, IUCN has become the global authority on the status of the natural world and what is needed to be done to protect it. -
Minamata
Minamata was a disease that formed from mercury poisoning from ingesting fish and shellfish which were contaminated by MeHg that had been released into waste water from a chemical plant in Japan. The first discovered case took place in Minamata City in May of 1956. Some of the many symptoms of the disease included speech and auditory damage, as well as partial blindness. -
Population: 3 billion
-
Publishing of "Silent Spring"
"Silent Spring", a book illustrating the dangers of pesticides such as DDT, was published on September 27, 1962. Rachel Carson, the author "Silent Spring", was turned into a villain by the chemical industry and its allies for exposing the truth of their products. -
The First Earth Day
On April 22, 1970, millions of Americans came together to celebrate the first ever Earth Day. They held rallies and parades in order to raise ecological awareness for the planet. This event brought upon a widespread unity for the Environmental Movement. -
The Gaia Hypothesis
The Gaia Hypothesis states that Earth is maintained in a habitable state by self-regulatory negative feedback loops that keep conditions within boundaries that are favorable to life. This hypothesis was made based on several observations, such as Earth's repeated recovery from multiple massive deviations from its regular systems. -
The Club of Rome
The Club of Rome was an environmentalist group which wrote the book "The Limits to Growth". This book was a best seller and it examined the consequences of a rapidly growing world population with the planet's finite amount of natural resources. -
Stockholm Conference
On June 5, 1972, the Stockholm Conference was held. This was the first meeting of the international community to consider global environment and developmental needs. Another point of focus during the conference was humanity's actions and how they were effecting the planet. -
Population: 4 billion
-
Save the Whales
On April 27, 1975, Greenpeace launched the world’s first anti-whaling campaign from the docks of Vancouver. The mission would become the spark that ignited a global “Save the Whales” movement and eventually helped secure an international ban on commercial whaling. -
Recycling
In 1980, for the first time ever, New Jersey made a mandatory curbside recycling pick-up program for all citizens. Nowadays, these curbside recycling pick-ups exist in nearly every American city and brings awareness to many communities all over the country. -
Bhopal Disaster
The Bhopal Disaster was a chemical leak in India during early December of 1984. In the leak, about a little less than 50 tons of dangerous gases had escaped from an insecticide plant. The gas drifted through several densely populated areas and ended up killing thousands of people almost instantly. The lasting effects of the leak were an estimated total of 20,000 deaths as well as nearly 500,000 survivors left with eye irritation and even blindness. -
The Rainbow Warrior
On July 10, 1985, a ship named "The Rainbow Warrior" was sunk to halt its interference with a nuclear test on the Polynesian Island of Moruo. The sinking of the ship raised awareness for the dangers of nuclear testing and promoted enviornmental campaigns against said testing. -
Chernobyl
In April fo 1986 the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded, causing significant amounts of radioactive material to be released into the surrounding area. The accident was the result of a flawed reactor design that was operated by underqualified personnel. The accident caused hundreds of thousands of people to experience radiation sickness and even cancer. Over 4,000 people ended up dying from the events that occurred. -
Population: 5 billion
-
Agenda 21
On June 14,1992, the United Nations created the plan "Agenda 21". Agenda 21 was adopted by over 178 governments. It was a plan of action to achieve sustainable development worldwide. Agenda 21 was to be taken globally, nationally, and locally. -
Hybrids
In 1997, a whole new world of car was introduced to the public: the Toyota Prius. It was a hybrid gas-electric automobile. Ever since, more and more hybrid and fully electric cars become available to the public. Hybrid vehicles are able to dispense less than half the amount of carbon dioxide that a regular car would, while fully electric cars emit none at all. -
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol implements the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by obliging industrialized countries and economies in transition to limit and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in accordance with mutually agreed targets. The Convention itself only asks those countries to adopt policies and measures on mitigation and to report periodically. -
Population: 6 billion
-
Release of Documentary: "An Inconvenient Truth"
Documentary "An Inconvenient Truth", released in May of 2006, discusses global warming's causes and effects. The host, Al Gore, uses his humor to appeal to the audience and to make sure he gets his point across. Al Gore mentions causes of global warming from human energy emissions to carbon dioxide concentrations. He also talks about effects of global warming such as the changing conditions of climates such as the arctic. -
Copenhagen
On December 7, 2009, a political conference with intent to constrain carbon and create both short and long term plans to deal with climate change, named Copenhagen, took place. -
BP Oil Spill
On April 20, 2010, a BP Oil rig exploded and released over 130 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Millions of sea animals were harmed and many of them were killed by this leakage. This spill opened up the eyes of people all over the world to the devastating effects that humans can have on our environment. This spill is one of the greatest in all of history and is certainly the largest in American history. -
Population: 7 billion
-
The Paris Agreement
On November 11, 2016, an international treaty, known as the Paris Agreement, went into effect. The treaty deals with climate change and aims to limit global warming to less than 2°C. Their ultimate goal is to obtain a climate-neutral world by mid century.