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Rachel Carson Publishes “Silent Spring”
In 1962 Carson publishes her book “Silent Spring” that discusses how pesticides like DDT are making their way into the ecosystem and harming animals. (pbs.org) -
The EPA is founded
The Environmental Protection Agency is founded by President Nixon to regulate and lower harm caused by pollution. (Britannica) -
Clean Air Act is created
The United States creates the Clean Air Act with the two main goals being fixing the ozone layer and lowering air pollution. (Britannica) -
U.S Bans DDT
After strong protests against the pesticide DDT which harms animals and more specifically birds, the EPA bans DDT. (Britannica) -
Chernobyl
In Ukraine a nuclear reactor exploded due to a flawed reactor. The radiation spread across Europe and caused birth defects. This disaster helped to create the Convention on Nuclear Safety.
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Montreal Protocol
After the hole in the ozone layer is found the Montreal Protocol is created. This treaty aimed to lower and get rid of chemicals that reduced the ozone in our atmosphere. (Britannica) -
Oil spill caused by the Exxon Valdez
At the Gulf of Alaska 11,000,000 gallons of oil is spilled from a ship called the Exxon Valdez. This oil was moved around the area due to strong winds and waves. The company responsible gives 2.1 billion dollars in an effort to clean up. However the damage was already done and large amounts of wildlife were harmed and killed.
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Oil Pollution Act is Created
After the Exxon Valdez oil spill it’s shown that the EPA needs a better way to control oil spills. The U.S creates the Oil Pollution Act so that the EPA can better deal with oil spills. (Britannica) -
Earth Summit in Rio de Janerio
Rio de Janeiro holds an Earth Summit formed by the U.N attended by world leaders from around the globe to discuss environmentally related problems. Out of this summit the 2 main treaties that were brought up were the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Framework Convention on Climate Change. (pbs) -
Oil Spill in Deepwater Horizon
After an explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig 11 workers, 800,000 birds and 65,000 turtles die. U.S government officials estimate more than 60,000 barrels of oil were leaking each day during the spill, making the Deepwater Horizon oil spill the biggest marine oil spill in history. ( Britannica)