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Population: 1 billion
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Overpopulation
There are so many people on this planet, by the end of the decade there could be 8.5 billion people. With this the garbage will be out of control and the demand for resources will be high. This is public awareness because if the public doesn’t do something now, we will have a big problem in the future. The population hit 1 billion at the beginning of the 19th century and has been rapidly growing since. -
Global Warming
Global warming is becoming a serious threat to life on the planet, it is destroying ice glaciers and ruining habitats for animals, if not fixed then there will be a serious issue and animals will die. -
Food Waste
Humans are wasting over 1.3 billion tons of food, which is enough to feed 3 billion people. Food waste is causing the loss of a third of greenhouse gas emissions. Food insecurity is also a large problem. -
Love Canal Chemical Waste Dump
The Love Canal was going to be originally built to link the upper and lower Niagra Falls, but the project was soon abandoned. Fairly harmless waste began getting dumped in the 1920s, but by 1942, toxic chemicals began to be dumped into the canal. It was found that several people in the area had health issues linked to these toxic chemicals. -
Population: 2 billion
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Dust Bowl
The ‘dust bowl’ is the name given to the disaster that occurred through the state of Texas to Nebraska. Intense winds swept choking dust across hundreds of miles, killing off livestock and crops. The great depression, already in full swing, was further worsened by the intense dusty conditions. It is believed the disaster was caused by several environmental and agricultural factors. -
Founding of IUCN
Established on October 5, 1948 in Fontainebleau, France, the IUCN is a group formed with the means of bringing together the government and members of society to further reach a specific goal: the goal of protecting nature. IUCN aims to discover the impact of human activities in correlation to nature and how to improve upon the issues at hand. -
The Great Smog of London
The great smog of London was, contrary to the name, not so great. For 5 days in 1952, the lethal fog covered the city and killed over 12,000 individuals. The fog was believed to have been caused by the unprecedented amounts of pollution and weather conditions. -
Oil in the Niger Delta
In 1956, oil was pumped from Bayelsa for the first time ever by Shell. After that, more oil companies extracted oil, which has led to increasing numbers of oil spills. The spills have had effects on public health as well as environmental health. -
Minamata Disaster
Minamata, a small town on the coast of the Shiranui sea, dealt with a severe case of mercury poisoning due to a suspected poisoning (from runoff from a large petrochemical plant in the nearby area) of the surrounding bay/water. With fish being the primary source of nutrients to the residents and animals in Minamata, the effects were widespread. Deformities, mental retardation, and other cognitive impairments plagued the town for years to come. -
Population: 3 billion
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Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring Published
Rachel Carson’s silent spring is a book with recollections drawn from real-life examples of DDT and the negative impact/damage it had on agriculture, animals, plants and humans. The book is widely controversial, and focuses in part on what can be done to improve the climate. -
Deforestation in the Ecuadorian Amazon
Beginning in the 1970s, rainforests in Ecuador have been deforested to create cities, towns, crops, pasture, etc. This has caused soil erosion and deaths of several types of animals. -
Gaia Hypothesis
The Gaia Hypothesis is that on earth, all organisms and their inorganic surroundings are integrated to form a self-regulating system to maintain conditions of life on earth. -
Population: 4 billion
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The Seveso Disaster
In 1976, a chemical plant explosion north of Milan released chemicals into the atmosphere. 3,300 animals were killed, and many individuals were hospitalized with skin lesions and inflammation. -
Whaling (Save the Whale)
Save the whale campaign began in 1977 but whales were protected starting the year 1986. People are no longer legally allowed to kill, capture, net fishing, or harm a whale. This brings public awareness that whales should not be hunted and if they are, there is a big fine. -
Amoco Cadiz Tanker Spill
In 1978, the vessel: Amoco Cadiz got hit by a large wave that caused steering failure. By two weeks, a disastrous amount of crude oil and banker fuel was released into the ocean, killing more marine life than any other recorded incident. -
Bhopal
On December 3rd, 45 tons of methyl isocyanate gas leaked from an insecticide plant owned by an Indian industry and immediately killed thousands of people and plants. This brings attention to the public so this problem can be solved and does not happen again. -
Chernobyl
On April 26, 1986, an accident occurred in Chernobyl, Ukraine that caused a reactor to be destroyed and radioactive material to be released into the environment. There were about 47 deaths and over 6000 people were diagnosed with thyroid cancer. -
Population: 5 billion
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Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
In 1989, the Exxon Valdez crashed and released 11 million gallons of crude oil into the ocean. It was said to kill about 40% of the sea otter population in the Prince William Sound. -
Kyoto Protocol
This protocol was adopted on December 11, 1997 and was put into use on February 16, 2005. This protocol tries to limit and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere by industrialized countries. -
Population: 6 billion
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Romania's Cyanide Spill
On January 30, in the year 2000, a dam by the name of Baia Mare Gold Mine expelled 100,000 cubic meters of wastewater primarily in the country Hungary as well as into the country of Romania. Contaminated with cyanide, the water killed off much of the wildlife in surrounding areas and caused considerable damage throughout the areas affected. -
Jilin Chemical Plant Explosion
In 2005, a petrochemical plant exploded in Jilin, China, which caused around 100 tons of toxins into a nearby river. This damaged China’s environment. -
Documentary film An Inconvenient Truth released
This documentary, released on May 24th, 2006, explains global warming and addresses how the former Vice President Al Gore worked to counter global climate change. The film shows that global warming is an actual problem that needs to be faced. It opened the eyes of people around the world and brought perspective to this very real problem. -
Population: 7 billion
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Deepwater Horizon
The Deepwater Horizon water spill is the largest oil spill in history caused by an explosion that happened April 20th, 2010. It killed thousands of sea life and polluted the Gulf of Mexico. -
The 2020 Bay Area Fire
In Bay Area California over one million acres of land was burned and 35 people were killed in this wildfire. The air quality was so poor that it led to even more deaths after the fire was put out. This tells us that in California it is so dry that wildfires are happening more often.