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1769 — Philadelphia committee led by Benjamin Franklin attempts to regulate waste disposal and water pollution.
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1854 — Henry David Thoreau publishes Walden
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1866 — The term ecology is coined in German as Oekologie by Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel
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1872 — The term acid rain is coined by Robert Angus Smith in the book Air and Rain
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1905 — The term smog is coined by Henry Antoine Des Voeux in a London meeting to express concern over air pollution
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1916 — US Congress created the National Park Service
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October 4, 1957 Sputnik
Moscow launches the first artificial space satellite, Sputnik 1 -
April 12th 1961: Gagarin, first man
On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space, completing a single, 108-minute orbit. -
1962 — Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring
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1968 — The Apollo 8 picture of Earthrise
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July 12th 1969: on the Moon
On July 21, 1969, US astronaut Neil Armstrong is the first man to step onto the Moon, his teammate Edwin Aldrin joining him around 20 minutes later. -
1970 — First Earth Day – April 22. Millions of people gather in the United States for the first Earth Day. US Environmental Protection Agency established
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April 19th 1971: Space Station
On April 19, 1971, the Soviet Union launches the first orbital space station, Salyut 1. -
July 20th 1976: Mars
On July 20, 1976, US spacecraft Viking 1 becomes the first to successfully land on Mars and send back images of the Red Planet. -
April 12th 1981: space shuttle
On April 12, 1981, the US space shuttle Columbia, the first reusable manned spacecraft, makes its first voyage. -
1989 — Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer entered into force
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April 25th 1990: Hubble
On April 25, 1990, the Hubble is the first space telescope to be placed into orbit, at 547 kilometres (340 miles) from Earth. -
1997 — The Kyoto Protocol was negotiated in Kyoto, Japan in December. Countries that ratify this protocol commit to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide
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2001 — U.S. rejects the Kyoto Protocol
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April 28th 2001: space tourist
On April 28, 2001, Italian American multi-millionaire Dennis Tito, 60, becomes the world's first space tourist. He pays Russia $20 million to stay on the ISS for eight days. -
September 29th 2008: private SpaceX
On September 29, 2008, US company SpaceX is the first private venture to successfully launch a rocket into Earth's orbit, the Falcon 1. -
November 12th 2014: comet landing
On November 12, 2014, the European Space Agency places a small robot, Philae, on a comet more than 500 million kilometres from Earth. The first comet lander is part of a mission aiming to explore the origins of the Solar System. -
2017 — U.S. announces it will cease participation in the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation
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2021 — U.S. announces it will rejoin the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation