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Pennsylvania conserves trees
Pennsylvania governor William Penn orders colonists to preserve one tree for every tree they cut down. This marks the first intance of conserving resources in America. -
Yellowstone Act
The Yellowstone Act creates the first national park that is preserved from exploitation. This is the first park preservation effort in the USA leads to more parks in the future. -
Lacey Act
The Lacey Act prohibited the transport of illegally obtained wildlife across state lines, and outllawed hunting in Yellowstone. This was an early biocentrism effort that supported wildlife over humans and focused on preserving animals. -
Georgia v. Tennessee Copper Comany and Ducktwon Sulphur
Georgia files suit against Tennessee Copper Company for their pollution coming across the border into Georgia. This creates regulations for keeping pollution from crossing state lines and sets a good precendent for border pollution disputes. -
National Park Service
Congress establishes the National Park Service to help preserve 84.6 billion acres of land. This helps lead to more preservation and park movements in the future. -
Emergency Conservation Work Act and Civilian Conservation Corps
Roosevelt creats the Emergency Conservation Work Act and Civilian Conservation Corps to protect against erosion and the destruction of natural resources. The Act helped to preserve wildlife and forests. -
Bald Eagle Preservation Act
Congress passes the Bald Eagle Preservation Act to prevent the eagle from going extinct. Thankfully, today the bald eagle is no longer an endangered species due to the careful steps taken in the 40s to preserve the animal. -
LA school closing
Heavy smog forced Los Angeles to close schools for a month. This incident indicated the high pollution levels of in the USA during the 50s, and showed the citizens of Los Angeles how their pollution would affect them. -
Antarchtic Treaty
Protects Antarctica from dumping nuclear waste. 46 countries have signed the treaty to end nuclear dumping in Antarctica. This treaty helped to regulate the dumping of waste in the future. -
Silent Spring
Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring, which warned about the dangers of pesticides (DDT) to water supplies and waterlife. This leads to the government outlawing of pesticides like DDT and sets a precendent for government regulation and restriction. -
Clean Air Act
Congress passes the first Clean Air Act, which regulated air pollution and emission. This was a major pollution law that prevented waste and pollution in the air. -
Wilderness Act
Conress passed the Wilderness Act, which established the National Wilderness Preservation System to secure for the American people of future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness. This has led to 90 million acres of wilderness being preserved by 2001 -
Water Quality Act
President Johnson signs the Water Quality Act to strength federal water pollution laws and water quality guidelines for states. This act helps state's water sanitation and quality to ensure good health of people. -
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
Congress passes the wild and scenic rivers acts to protect waterways from pollution, commercialization, and development. This act helped to preserve the purity and beauty of American waterways. -
Cleveland's Cuyahoga River
The Cleveland's Cuyago River ignited into flames as chemicals and pollution caught fire on top of the water. This incident captured the nations's attention and concern for environmental issues and led to more awareness of the growing problem of pollution. -
National Environmental Policy Act
This is the first law establishing the broad national framework for protecting the environment. The act requires that all branches of government give consideration to environmental issues. This leads to more government regulation of businesses. -
Earth Day
The first Earth day is celebrated by 20 million people. It was organized by Gaylord Nelson, and it is celebrated each year around the world by environmentalists and people who enjoy preserving Earth. -
EPA established
The EPA is established to create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony. This leads to future increased government regulation to protect nature. -
Endangered Species Act
Congress passes the endangered species act to protect endangered species from becoming extinct. This act helped to sustain endangered wildlife and contributed to biocentric movement. -
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act was established to fund the cleaning of uncontrolled or abandoned waste sists. This act helped to ensure proper clean up and sanition of waste. -
Global Warming
NASA warns congress of the effects of global warming. Global warming becomes an issue of debate and concern among citizens especially in the future. -
Exxon Valdez
The exxon valdez oil spill dumped 11 million gallons of oil of the coast of Alaska and destroys ocean life. This spill leads to Exxon v. Baker which leads to the Oil Pollution Act to regulate oil pollution. -
Earth Summit
The Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, leads to the signing of the convention of climate change and the Earth Charter. This leads to a global pledge to control global warming, which is debated and discussed today. -
An Inconvenient Truth
Al Gore releases "An Inconvenient Truth," which raises awareness of global warming. This work warns the nation of the dangers of global warming and leads to more discussion of the impact global warming has on our future. -
Air Quality Standards
The EPA issues new air quality standards to control pollution coming from car exhaust and coal-fired power plants. This new regulation prevents helps to control the amount of pollution released into the air from cars and power plants.