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The U.S. Supreme Court rules that New Jersey can dump sewage into the New York harbor.
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A Nazi Party newspaper discusses the link between nationalism and environmentalism. "Asphalt culture is destroying peasant thinking, the rural lifestyle and [national strengh]."
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The term 'greenhouse effect' is coined by Glen Thomas Trewartha, assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin.
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Smog is so thick in St. Louis that lanterns are needed during daylight for a week.
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U.S. drops atomic boms on Japan, unleashing nuclear power to the world.
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The U.S. holds its first conference on air pollution.
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4,000 people die in the worst of London's 'killer fogs.'
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World's first commerical nuclear power plant opens in Sellafield, U.K. This is seen as the start of the 'new atomic age' that would produce electricity that is too cheap to measure.
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Congress passes Clean Air Act with a $95 million budget for study and cleanup efforts.
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The first nationwide Earth Day is celebrated, creating a greater political presence for environmental concerns.
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Consumers panic as prices quadruple during the Arab Oil Embargo. The shock leads to a national soul-searching about energy priorities.
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U.S. Department of Energy is created by President Jimmy Carter.
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Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear reactor explodes, killing 31 people immediately. 4,200 people are estimated to have died from effects later.
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Exxon Valdez oil carrier spills 11million gallons of oil.
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Gallup poll finds that 76 percent of Americans call themselves environmentalists.
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President Clinton signs an order restricting logging in old growth forests.
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Climate change warning issued by U.N. Intergovernmental Panel report.
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Earth's population exceeds six billion in 1999. Half are living in cities.
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The group of eight, or G-8, industrialized countries say they will cut carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent by 2050, the first time all eight countries have commited to combatting climate.