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Henry David Thoreau DOB
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John Muir DOB
John Muir is the main influence of the creation of Yosemite National Park. He wanted to protect the park from commercial developments. He fought congress to finally create the park to protect thousands of acres of forest from further destruction. He also created the Sierra Club to raise awareness of the country's wilderness destruction. -
Theodore Roosevelt DOB
During his time in office, Theodore Roosevelt was influenced by John Muir to help the environment. During his time as president, he set aside 148 million acres of forest reserves, created 50 regions for the protection of wildlife, founded 16 national monuments, and established 5 new national parks. -
George Perkins DOB
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Gifford Pinchot DOB
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Alice Hamilton DOB
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Yellowstone National Park established
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Franklin Roosevelt DOB
Franklin Roosevelt during his time as president had a passion for protecting the environment. He created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) which its workers were hired to plant millions of trees, protect forests for wildfires, open summer camps, improve national and state parks, and battle soil erosion. He also created the Soil Conservation Service to help out people effect by the Dust Bowl, which caused drought and millions of tons of soil to be blown into the atmosphere. Roosevelt created -
Aldo Leopold DOB
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Lacey Act
The Lacey Act bands trafficking in illegal wildlife, that also includes plants and plant products such as timber and paper. The act was created to help protect and preserve wildlife. Also, to make sure that if wildlife is collect, that is collected in a sustainable manner, not excessive. This is effective because now we know what is being consumed/taken out of the environment and we can manage out intake as well. -
First national wildlife refuge established
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US forest service founded
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Antiquities Act
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Rachel Carson DOB
Rachel Carson was a biologist who has a burning passion for nature. She helped the environment a lot too before she died of cancer. She worked part time with the US Bureau of Fisheries to protect fish in the ocean, wrote many books about marine and wildlife to further educate the world, and had the pesticide DDT banned in the United States since it caused a disturbance in the food chain. The pesticide was killing insects which birds would eat, so there was a large population decrease in birds. -
US national park service founded
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Jimmy Carter DOB
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Edward Abbey DOB
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Civilian Conservation Corps
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Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act
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Dust Bowl
What caused the Dust Bowl was in the Great Plains, the area had little rainfall, light soil, and high winds. This caused a drought from 1934 to 1937. The soil didn't have grass to keep it stable, so the wind created dust clouds, also known as black blizzards. Dust storms occurring over and over wreaked havoc, choked cattle and pasture lands, and caused 60% of the population in this area to flee. -
Federal Food, Drug, & Cosmetic Act
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Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act
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The Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act is to regulate discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and also regulate quality standards for surface waters. This act was created after the realization of the water pollution in the waters where the Cuyahoga River fires occurred. This act has been very effective because we now have many sources of clean drinking water to bottle. Also, since bodies of water are monitored, we know how healthy and clean it is at all times. -
Al Gore DOB
Al Gore had many influences on the environment. Some included pushing the knowledge of global warming into pop culture, was against mountaintop mining because of water would flow less, changed EPA rules about bacteria tests in bottled water, and proposed tsunami warning system prior to 2004 tsunami. Al Gore has to his his passion until after the election, but the passion was always there. -
The Clean Air Act
The Clean Air Act is designed to regulate emission of pollutants that could harm human health and welfare. This act was created because air pollution was effecting people so severely, that many deaths were the result of it. For example, in 1952, "killer smog" killed 3,000 people because of the air pollution in London. This act has helped the environment by cuttting ground level ozone smog by 25%, reduce mercury emissions, reduce the lead content in gasoline, and more. -
Wilderness Act
The Wilderness act also lead to the National Wilderness Preservation System that protects almost 110 million acres of wilderness areas from coast to coast. It was created to protect wildlife and also plant life. This is effective because in these areas, it is illegal to hunt, so wildlife is preserved. Also, it's protected where trees can't be cut down and for sets can't be wiped out. The nature of these areas is preserved and guaranteed to stay safe. -
Cuyahoga River burning
Also burned in 1868, 1912, 1936, and 1952.
The Cuyahoga River first was set on fire by a passing train. The train created sparks which lit the oil-soaked debris floating in the waters surface. After realizing how much the water was polluted and how it could become a health risk for people, the Clean Water Act was passed. Since then, bodies of water are much cleaner and a less of a risk to human and environmental health. -
The National Environmental Policy Act
*Actually on January 1st. -
The First Earth Day
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OSHA
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Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
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OPEC oil embargo
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The Endangered Species Act
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The Love Canal incident
The Love Canal was suppose to be a man's dream of created a beautiful canal for people to move near and have education opportunities. Starting in 1942, the Hooker Chemical company began using it as their own chemical waste dump. In the end, it had over 21,000 tons of toxic chemicals. This lead to illnesses of the people around the canal. Illnesses included epilepsy, asthma, migraines, and nephrosis. Also, abnormally high rates of birth defects and miscarriages in the neighborhood occured. -
TMI nuclear accident
This accident started because there were failures in the non-nuclear secondary system. This was followed by a stuck-open pilot operated relief valve in the primary system. This let big amounts of nuclear reactor coolant to escape. The whole thing was caused by employee/human error and lack of training to recognize the situation. As a result of this accident, unknown amounts of radioactive gases and radio avid iodine was released into the environment. -
Superfund
Superfund was created to have specific people be responsible for cleaning up the nation's contaminated land and responding to oil spills, natural disasters, and other environmental emergencies. It was created to make sure people can live and work in a place where it is a healthy environment. This is effective because they help the environment when it can't help itself. They help it get back to a healthy and stable place so it's healthy for humans to be near, in, or around that particular area. -
Union Carbide plant explosion in Bhopal, India
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Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion
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The Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act
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The Montreal Protocol
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Exxon Valdez oil spill
The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred because a cargo carrying 55 million US gallons of oil struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef. This caused the cargo to spill 11 to 38 million gallons into the ocean. Immediate effects to the surrounding marine and wildlife included deaths of sea birds, sea otters, river otters, harbor seals, bald eagles, and orcas. Long terms effects include deaths of wildlife still occurring and clean up is still in process. -
The Oil Pollution Act
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The Kyoto Protocol
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BP gulf coast oil spill