APES Environmental Timeline 4A

Timeline created by bentonj

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Event Date:	Event Title:	Event Description:
01/01/1000	Lead Poisoning in Rome	Romans used lead piping to transport water throughout the empire because they did not recognize the dangers of lead poisoning, Lead was also used in winedmaking as a sweetener and was ingested directly. This lead poisoning contributed to the collapse of Rome.
01/01/1000	Easter Island Ecological Disaster	Easter Island was home to a prosperous tribe who used the Easter Island palm. Unfortunately, it was harvested into extiction and the human population was decimated. Serves as a warning to us today of over-exploitation of resources and overpopulation.
01/01/1500	Norse Culture Disappearing in Greenland	Vikings colonized Greenland and set up a society similar to theirs at home. However, Greenland's climate cooled down and Norse agrarian practices were not successful. Eventually, the Norse culture died out due to not changing their way in the face of changing ecological conditions. .
09/06/1766	Thomas Malthus	English scholar and philosopher, wrote about populaton issues, how food grows linearly, and population grows exponentially, and how that discrepancy is becoming a problem.
09/06/1817	Henry David Thoreau	19th Centruy Philosopher, wrote "Walden", Transcendentalist, wrote about anarchism in naturalism, that nature will take care of itself.
09/06/1838	John Muir	Scottish Naturalist and philosopher, explored Yosemite, big on outdoors and nature and preservation, formed Sierra Club, wanted for man to stay out of nature, not for use, but for preservation. Fought with Pinchot, who advocated use of resources.
01/01/1858	Theodore Roosevelt	US President who created the U.S. Forest service which protects 193 million acres of forest. Roosevelt also worked to have over 70 nautral areas, including the grand canyon which were designated as national parks, national monuments, or wild life refuges. Provided much of the force of the early conservation movements in USA
08/28/1859	First Oil Well Drilled in USA	• First well drill specifically for Petroleum was in Titusville, Pennsylvania on 28 August 1859. • Financed by an oil company to get petroleum to refine for Kerosene (for lamps) • Developed many of the methods used today for drilling for oil. • Sparked the first oil boom in USA.
05/20/1862	Homestead Act	Government passed this law to settle the west. Gave away undeveloped land for the promise to improve the land. Lead to many people farming in places we shouldn't have. Caused the Dust Bowl.
09/13/1865	Gifford Pinchot	First chief of US Forest Service. Companion of Presidnet Roosevelt and help him to start many conservation ideas. Feuded with Muir over preservation (which Muir favored) versus the wise use of resources, which Pinchot advocated.
02/27/1869	Alice Hamilton	• February 27, 1869 – September 22, 1970 • A leading expert in the field of Occupational Health. • A medical doctor who pioneered the field of TOXICOLOGY; especially concerning the effects of metals and chemical upon workers. • First woman appointed a professor at Harvard University. • Highest award by NIOSH is the Hamilton Award.
03/01/1872	Yellowstone National Park Established	First ever national park. Extending from Wyoming. Montana, and Idaho. First time any government had set aside wildlife to be perserved.
01/29/1886	Invention of Automobile	Benz invented the first gas engined automobile. This production started the age of modern automobiles. This invention contributes to our global warmning problem because of all the gas now realeased into the air.
01/11/1887	Aldo Leopold	Wrote a sand county Alamac, heavily influanced enviromental ethics and adied the movement for wilderness conservation
05/28/1892	National Sierra Club	A grassroots environmental group aimed to conserve water and habitats and find new sources of clean energy through political action. Founded by John Muir. Mission = to explore, enjoy and protect the wild places of the Earth!! They currently have 1.4 million members and have an enduring legacy for America's wild places! :)
01/01/1895	Audubon Society	Uses science, policy, and education to restore and protect wildlife habitats- specifically birds. Founded by John James Audubon.
05/25/1900	Lacey Act	First US law that protected wildlife. This conservation law, brought up by Iowa Rep. John F. Lacey, protects plants and wildlife through criminal penalities for various violations. It is most known for prohibiting trade of wildlife, fish, and plants that have been taken or stolen.
09/13/1914	Death of Last Passenger Pigeon	Went from being the most abundent bird in North America to being extinct in 100 years. Flocked in groups of a billion. Colonial hunters shot them for cheap food for the slaves and animals. Last pigeon was named "Martha."
07/06/1918	Migratory Bird Treaty and Act	Federal law protecting over 900 species of migratory birds. Unlawful to pursure, hunt, kill, possess, ect. a bird or any apect of the bird. First time more than one country came together to decide to protect wildlife.
01/01/1920	Invention and Use of PCBs	• Polychlorinated biphenyls - A group of organic compounds with chlorines atoms • PCBs were widely used as insulators and coolants fluids in transformers, capacitors, and electric motors. • Known to have harmful effects on life • Very stable compounds and difficult to destroy
09/12/1930	Dust Bowl	Due to the over use of plowing fields and the destruction of trees and other natural barriers, the "dust" had no anchor to keep it in the soil. With strong winds
09/13/1930	Invention and Use of CFCs (chemicals)	A family of chemicals (chlorofluorocarbons) widely used in industry because they were considered very cheap and safe. Used for refrigeration and an alternative for dangerous chemicals such as ammonia. In 1970's, it was discovered that hte CFC's were destroying the ozone layer around the Earth.
09/13/1930	Invention and Use of DDT (Insecticide)	A widely used pesticide that is very effective agaist insects; especially those causing Typhus and Malaria It presists in the environment for a long period of time and is difficult to get rid of. Also, the pesticide also harms useful organisms such as birds. Its killing of birds was the subject of "Silent Spring"
01/01/1933	Civilian Conservation Corps	Public work relief program that provided various unskilled manual labor jobs that dealt with the conservation and development of natural resources in rual lands.
10/27/1948	Smog at Donora PA	Over 7,000 were hospitalized or became ill as a result of the smog. This created the first federal and state laws to controal air pollution.
01/01/1951	The Nature Conservancy	A private oraganization that tries to find new ways to help assure that the Earth can continue to support life and population growth and willing to buy to protect. Often buys or established conservationships over ecological sensitive properties to preserve them.
12/20/1951	Invention of the Nuclear Power Plant	Nuclear power is seen as a "cleaner" sorce to find energy but can also produce catastrophic enviromental dammage. Proved to be a key role in the discoveries toward nuclear power, and the uses of this new technology.
01/01/1956	Mercury Poisoning in Minamata, Japan	• A town in Japan that was dramatically affected by Mercury poisoning by a local factory. • In 1956, strange neurological diseases were notices in the local populations; especially children and cats. • After several years, scientists discovered that it was caused by methylmercury being dumped into the local waters by the Chisso Minamata factory for >20 years. • The mercury accumulated in the seafood that was eaten by the local people. • 2,265 victims have been officially certified (1,784 of
09/12/1962	Rachel Carson	Author of "Silent Spring", which exposed the dangers of pesticide DDT, bringing public attention to the Environmental Movement. Considered a key event in the development of environmentalism in the USA.
01/01/1963	Clean Air Act	-a federal law that regulates the air that is emitted from stationary and mobile sources -enacted by Congress to control air pollution. Requires the EPA to develop and enforce regulations to protect the general public from hazardous, airborne contaminants. -significant because it was the first major environmental law to include a provision for citizen suits
01/01/1964	Greenpeace	A non-governmental organization with a goal to ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity. They fight to protect all living things, to stop Global Warming, and to eliminate Toxins. Originated in Canada and is now one of the best internationally known environmental group.
03/18/1967	Torrey Canyon Incident	860,000 barrels of oil spilled into the sea in London, creating a disaster that still affects the environment to this day. Implemented early warning system for oil spills. First big oil tanker spill
09/12/1968	Paul R. Ehrlich	American biologist & educator known for his (failed) attempt to predict population growth & limited reasoources which he laid out in his award winning book "The Population Bomb." Despite his failed predictions Pul still had a great impact on the fight agianst ever population and global warming.
09/12/1968	Garrett Hardin	American Ecologist who brought attention to the issues of population growth arguing that (?) Starvation and social disorder will result unless population growth is curbed. He had a significant effect on bringing the issues of overpopulation and limited reasources on the earth. Wrote "The Tragedy of the Commons".
12/24/1968	“Earthrise” photo – Apollo 8	• Earthrise is the name given to a photograph of the Earth taken by astronaut William Anders on 24 Dec 1968 during the Apollo 8 mission. • It has been called "the most influential environmental photograph ever taken." • Gave humans a better visual recognition of our place in the Universe and how fragile and unique the Earth is. • http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/moon/sfeature/sf_audio_pop_01b_qt.html
01/24/1969	Santa Barbara Oil Spill	3rd worst Oil Spill, to Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon, worst of its time. Within 10 days 80-100,000 barrells of oil spillled into the channel. Led to EPA, NEPA, Clean Water Act and Cal Envi Quality Act.
06/22/1969	Cuyahoga River Burns	Cuyahoga River was filled with oil and debris and caught fire in Cleaveland, Ohio. This started the realization that a Clean Water Act was needed to prevent any more fires.
04/22/1970	Earth Day	Created by Senator Nelson as a political endeavor. Earth Day raises awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. Helped launch the modern environmental movement, in addition to eco-friendly laws.
09/01/1970	NEPA Act	The overall USA enviromental law that created a national policy for the enhancement ot the enviroment and also established the presidents council quality. Created need for Environmental Impact statements.
12/03/1970	Founding of EPA	• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress. • The agency has approximately 18,000 full-time employees. • In the midst of many current scientific and political controversies: air quality standards, global warming, greenhouse gases, fuel economy, mercury standards, etc.
02/02/1971	Ramsar Convention	An international treaty dedicated to the conservation and correct use of wetlands. The UK has the largest number of protected sites while Canada has the greatest area of protected wetlands.
10/18/1972	Clean Water Act	Aimed at restoring and maintaining integrity of nation's waters. Eliminated and reduced pollution in bodies of water such as rivers and lakes. Became unlawful to dump pollutatnts in water.
09/13/1976	Love Canal, New York	Neighborhood built on a toxic waste/ dump site. Construction of homes and schools led to exposure of chemicals and rainwater run off into water supply. Government provided federal emergency relief due to increased cancer and low white blood cells counts in people. Leads to CERCLA, or Superfund Act, holds polluters accountable for their damages
07/07/1978	Francisco (Chico) Mendes	Devoted much of life to help saving the Amazon rain forest from his fellow Brazilian rubber tappers, He also fought greatly for the rights of Brazilians. He had a significant impact on getting the world aware of the problems of deforestation of the amazon Rainforest & its critical funtion of stabilizing the world climate. Assassinated by people opposed to his efforts.
03/12/1979	Accident at Three Mile Island	A partial core melt down at a pressurized water reactor in Pennsylvania. There was a result of about 2.5 million curies of radioactive gases and 15 curies of iodine-131. This was a huge reaction, but there weren't any deaths. No new nuclear power plants have been built in USA since this event.
09/13/1980	"Superfund Act"	• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), • A federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances • Authorizes the EPA to force companies to clean up or prevent releases of hazardous substances • If not possible, EPA does so from a special fund paid for by taxes on companies.
12/02/1984	DOW Chemical Accident in Bhopal, India	• World’s worst industrial accident. • Occurred at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, India. • A leak of methyl isocyanate gas and other chemicals resulted in the exposure of hundreds of thousands of people while they slept. • The official immediate death toll was 2,259; 558,125 total injuries • Caused by poor management practices, poor maintenance and poor operating practices.
04/26/1986	Accident at Chernobyl	Worst nuclear accident in history. An explosion occured in Russia at a nuclear power plant that released a large amount of ratioactive waste into the air. The contamination has spread over Western Russia and Europe. The effects of the explosion officially killed 64 people and affecting tens of thousands of others. A large area aournd the plants is still radioactive. The former Soviet Union tried to keep it a secret, helping to lead to the political destruction of the USSR.
03/06/1987	Mobro 4000	Barge hauled 3,168 tons of trash back and forth from Islip, New York to Belize and back, searching for a place to dump trash, due to full landfills and concerns about the nature of the trash. Helped spark recycling with environmentalists due to shortage of landfill space and the problem of disposing of solid wastes
01/01/1989	Montreal Protocol	-landmark international agreement to protect the stratosphere ozone layer -today, all UN-recognized nations have ratified it and continue to ween off of harmful chemicals and searching for ozone-friendly means -perhaps the single most successful international agreement to date.
03/24/1989	Exxon Valdez Accident	Was worst oil spill in history. An oil tanker coming from Alaska headed for California struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef and spilled 260,000 to 750,000 barrels of crude oil. Ecologically destroyed pristine Prince William Sound and much wildlife. Great outcry casued many changes in how oil is transported.
01/01/1992	Earth Liberation Front	The ELFs use economic sabotage and guerrilla warefare to stop the exploitation and destruction of the environment. They are radical examples of forecful environmentalists. Sometimes, they're called "eco-terrorists".
12/11/1997	Kyoto Treaty	-An agreement under which industrialized countries will reduce their collective emissions of greenhouse gases -the treaty places a heavier burden on developed countries under the idea that there are similar but differing responsibilities. -UNSUCCESSFUL. The cost is too high to convert to any other alternative instead of fossil fuels. Two biggest producers (US and China) are not effected because of no ratification and exemption respectively