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Development of environmental movement- Soil Conservation in China
Soil conservation was practised in China, India and Peru as early as 2000 years ago -
Industrial Revolution
Population growth and resource usage escalated
Large scale production of goods and services for all
Burning of large amounts of fuel in the form of trees and coal
Mining of minerals from the earth to produce metals to make machines
Limestone quarried for cement production
Land was cleared, natural waterways polluted, cities became crowded and smoky.
Our urban consumer society arose -
Paul Muller discovers DDT
It was first synthesized in the 19th century and sat for decades in labs. 1939, swiss chemist paul muller, discovered that it was a potent insecticide. -
Period: to
Green Revolution
Mechanized agriculture and boosted food proudction massively
Required the building of machinery and burning of enormous amounts of fossil fuels such as oil
Technology was applied to agriculture
New crop varieties were developed and fertilizer and pesticide use rose sharply
The world population grew to about 3 billion
Our resource use an waste production rocketed -
Rachel Carson warns the US about the effects of DDT
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London Smog
sulphur dioxide from power station caused smog that in turn killed 12 000 people in England -
Mercury in Minamata
First found -
Period: to
Modern Environmental Movement
The impactsbecame more global, endangered species, deforestation, global warming
A new breed of environmentalists surfaced who had scientific backgrounds and spearheaded the modern environmental movement
NGOs campaigned and the media reported
Governments formed nature reserves and put environmental issues on their agenda
Some businesses marketed themselves as environmentally friendly
UNEP organized Earth Summits on the environment
The movement bacme public and gained momentum -
Rachel Carson Publishes Silent Spring
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EIA Established
The National Environmental Policy Act established the EIA in 1969 in the US, 20 years later other countries in the world decided to follow along and join this movement. The EIA was created to create reports when preparing before a development project, it considers the advantages and disadvantages of the project. It examines the environmental impacts of the project and provides a documented way of examining the impacts as well as the process of the project. -
Greenpeace
Greenpeace was founded! -
The US Bans DDT
The US realizes the impact of DDT, and forbids the use of it. -
Chernobyl
The worst nuclear disaster ever occurred. A few miles north of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine (then part of the USSR) where an explosion and then fire resulted in a level 7 event in the reactor number 4. The reactor vessel containing the uranium radioactive material split so exposing the graphite moderator to air which caused it to catch fire. The reactor went into uncontrollable meltdown... -
Montreal Protocol
The Montreal Protocol is an international environmental agreement with universal ratification to protect the earth’s ozone layer by eliminating use of ozone depleting substances (ODS), which would otherwise allow increased UV radiation to reach the earth, resulting in higher incidence of skin cancers and eye cataracts, more-compromised immune systems, and negative effects on watersheds, agricultural lands and forests. -
Kyoto Protocol
Adopted in 1997 put into force 2005. Protocol about Climate Change, commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Recognising that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity, the Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities." -
Gothenberg Protocol
Protocol to abate acidification eutrophication and ground-level ozone. The 1999 protocol sets national emission ceilings for 2010 to 2020 -
UN Report on Minamata Bay
Details and scientific information about the mercury emissions -
Legally enforcing document about Minamata
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Fukushima Daiichi
An earthquake set off a tsunami which caused damage resulting in meltdown of 3 reactors in the plant. The water flooding these became radioactive and will take many years to remove. After the disaster, there were anti-nuclear demonstrations in other countries and Germany announced it was closing older reactors and phasing out nuclear power generation. -
Minamata Convention on Mercury
2013-2017
