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Thomas Mahus predicts exponential population growth.
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Apes timeline
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John Muir
21 April 1838 Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions. -
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
By immersing himself in nature, Thoreau hoped to gain a more objective understanding of society through personal introspection. Simple living and self-sufficiency were Thoreau's other goals, and the whole project was inspired by transcendentalist philosophy, a central theme of the American Romantic Period -
Homestead Act
The intent of the first Homestead Act, passed in 1862, was to liberalize the homesteading requirements of the Preemption Act of 1841. Its leading advocates were Andrew Johnson,[9] George Henry Evans and Horace Greeley -
Yellowstone National Park founded
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American Forestry Association founded
American Forests was established in September 1875 as the American Forestry Association (AFA) by physician and horticulturist John Aston Warder and a group of like-minded citizens in Chicago. The object of the organization was to collect and disseminate information on forestry and to foster the conservation of the existing forests -
Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks founded
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General Revision Act
The General Revision Act of 1891 repealed the Timber Culture and Preemption Acts and authorized the President of the United States, under the Forest Reserve Act, to create forest preserves "wholly or in part covered with timber or undergrowth, whether of commercial value or not...." about 16 million acres (65,000 km2) of forest lands were set aside for federal use in the Yellowstone region. President Benjamin Harrison set aside 14 other areas of forest land by proclamation. After this he signed -
Sierra Club founded
The Sierra Club is governed by a 15-member volunteer Board of Directors.[4] Each year, five directors are elected to three-year terms, and all club members are eligible to vote. A president is elected annually by the Board from among its members and receives a small stipend. The Executive Director runs the day-to-day operations of the group and is a paid staff member. On January 20, 2010, the club announced that its new executive director is Michael Brune, formerly of Rainforest Action Network.[ -
Lacey Act
The Lacey Act of 1900, or simply the Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 3371–3378) is a conservation law in the United States. Introduced into Congress by Rep. John F. Lacey, an Iowa Republican, the act was signed into law by President William McKinley on May 25, 1900.The Lacey Act protects both plants and wildlife by creating civil and criminal penalties for a wide array of violations. It prohibits trade in wildlife, fish, and plants that have been illegally taken, transported or sold. The law is still -
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Golden Age of Conversation (Theodore Roosevelt)
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First National Wildlife Refuge established
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U.S. forest Service
The Transfer Act of 1905 transferred the management of forest reserves from the General Land Office of the Interior Department to the Bureau of Forestry, henceforth known as the United States Forest Service. Gifford Pinchot was the first Chief Forester of the United States Forest Service in the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt. -
Giffard Pinchot
Pinchot is known for reforming the management and development of forests in the United States and for advocating the conservation of the nation's reserves by planned use and renewal. He called it "the art of producing from the forest whatever it can yield for the service of man." Pinchot coined the term conservation ethic as applied to natural resources. Pinchot's main contribution was his leadership in promoting scientific forestry and emphasizing the controlled, profitable use of forests and o -
Aldo Leopold
Leopold was influential in the development of modern environmental ethics and in the movement for wilderness conservation. His ethics of nature and wildlife preservation had a profound impact on the environmental movement, with his ecocentric or holistic ethics regarding land.[1] He emphasized biodiversity and ecology and was a founder of the science of wildlife management -
Audubon Society founded
Within a year of its foundation, the early Audubon Society claimed 39,000 members. Eventually, it attained a membership of 48,862.[1] Each member signed a pledge to "not molest birds." Prominent members included jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., abolitionist minister Henry Ward Beecher, and poet John Greenleaf Whittier. This society was later discontinued, but the name and plan survived -
Antiquities Act
The Antiquities Act of 1906, officially An Act for the Preservation of American Antiquities , is an act passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906. This law gives the President of the United States the authority to, by executive order, restrict the use of particular public land owned by the federal government. The Act has been used over a hundred times since its passage. Its use occasionally creates significant controversy. -
Congress upset with roosevelt waving so they ban further withdrawals.
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U.S. National Park service founded
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Dust Bowl
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Civilian Conservation corps founded
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. Robert Fechner was the head of the agency. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who provided unskilled manual labor jobs related to the conservation and development of natural resources in rural lands owned by federal, state and local governments. The CCC was designed to provide jobs for y -
Soil Conservation Service founded
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners and managers. I name was changed in 1994 during the Presidency of Bill Clinton to reflect its broader mission. It is a relatively small agency, currently comprising about 12,000 employees. Its mission is to improve, protect, and conserve natural res -
Taylor Grazing Act
The law initially permitted 80,000,000 ac (32,000,000 ha) of previously unreserved public lands of the United States to be placed into grazing districts to be administered by the Department of the Interior. As amended, the law now sets no limit on the amount of lands in grazing districts. Currently, there are approximately 162,000,000 ac (65,600,000 ha) inside grazing allotments.These can be vacant, unappropriated, and unreserved land from public lands, all except for Alaska, national forests, -
Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act
The Federal Duck Stamp, formally known as the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, is an adhesive stamp required by the United States federal government to hunt migratory waterfowl such as ducks and geese.[1] It is also used to gain entrance to National Wildlife Refuges that normally charge for admission.[1] It is widely seen as a collectable and a means to raise funds for wetland conservation, with 98% of the proceeds of each sale going to the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund. Presid -
Fish plus Wildlife Service
National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants. Since President Theodore Roosevelt designated Florida's Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge as the first wildlife refuge in 1903, the System has grown to over 560 national wildlife refuges and other units of the R -
Jane Goodall
Goodall is best known for her study of chimpanzee social and family life. She began studying the Kasakela chimpanzee community in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania, in 1960.[13] Without collegiate training directing her research, Goodall observed things that strict scientific doctrines may have overlooked.[14] Instead of numbering the chimpanzees she observed, she gave them names such as Fifi and David Greybeard, and observed them to have unique and individual personalities, an unconventional -
Silent Spring published by Rachel Carson
Silent Spring is a book written by Rachel Carson and published by Houghton Mifflin on September 27, 1962.[1] The book is widely credited with helping launch the contemporary American environmental movement -
Wilerness Act
The Wilderness Act of 1964 (Pub.L. 88–577) was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected 9.1 million acres (36,000 km²) of federal land. The result of a long effort to protect federal wilderness and to create a formal mechanism for designating wilderness, the Wilderness Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 3, 1964 after over sixty drafts and eight years of work. -
Wild and Scenic rivers act
The National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was an outgrowth of the recommendations of a Presidential commission, the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission (ORRRC). Among other things, the commission recommended that the nation protect wild rivers and scenic rivers from development that would substantially change their wild or scenic nature. The act was sponsored by Sen. Frank Church (D-Idaho) and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on October 2, 1968. A river or river section ma -
Garret Hardin introduced the tragedy of the commons
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Richard Nixon
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National Evironmental Policy act
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a United States environmental law that established a U.S. national policy promoting the enhancement of the environment and also established the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). As one of the most emulated statutes in the world, NEPA has been called the modern-day equivalent of an “environmental Magna Carta”.[ -
Cuyahga ricer in Cleveland catches fire
At least 13 fires have been reported on the Cuyahoga River, the first occurring in 1868.[12] The largest river fire in 1952 caused over $1 million in damage to boats and a riverfront office building.[13] Fires erupted on the river several times between the 1952 fire and June 22, 1969, when a river fire that day captured the attention of Time magazine, which described the Cuyahoga as the river that "oozes rather than flows" and in which a person "does not drown but decays".[14] The fire did event -
First Earth Day
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Environmental Protection Agency established Clean Air Act
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or sometimes USEPA) is an agency of the U.S. federal government which was created for the purpose of protecting human health and the environment by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress.[2] The EPA was proposed by President Richard Nixon and began operation on December 2, 1970, after Nixon signed an executive order. The order establishing the EPA was ratified by committee hearings in the House and Senate.[3] The -
OPEC oil embargo
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC (consisting of the Arab members of OPEC, plus Egypt, Syria and Tunisia) proclaimed an oil embargo. That year, Egypt and Syria, with the support of other Arab nations, launched a surprise attack on Israel on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Israel went on full nuclear alert, loading warheads into planes and long-range missiles.[1] The United States chose to re-s -
Endangered Species Act
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Sherwood Roland and Molina Announce that CFC are depletiong ozone layer
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RCRA
enacted RCRA to address the increasing problems the nation faced from its growing volume of municipal and industrial waste. RCRA amended the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965. It set national goals for:
Protecting human health and the natural environment from the potential hazards of waste disposal.
Energy conservation and natural resources.
Reducing the amount of waste generated, through source reduction and recycling
Ensuring the management of waste in an environmentally sound manner.[2] -
Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution.[1] Passed in 1972, the act established the goals of eliminating releases of high amounts of toxic substances into water, eliminating additional water pollution by 1985, and ensuring that surface waters would meet standards necessary for human sports and recreation by 1983. The principal body of law in effect is based on the Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972[2] which was a signif -
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
SMCRA grew out of a concern about the environmental effects of strip mining. Coal had been mined in the United States since the 1740s, but surface mining did not become widespread until the 1930s. At the end of that decade, states began to enact the first laws regulating the coal mining industry: West Virginia in 1939, Indiana in 1941, Illinois in 1943, and Pennsylvania in 1945. Despite those laws, the great demand for coal during World War II led to coal being mined with little regard for envir -
Love Canal
By 1978, Love Canal had become a national media event with articles referring to the neighborhood as "a public health time bomb," and "one of the most appalling environmental tragedies in American history."[19] Brown, a reporter for the local newspaper called the Niagara Gazette, was the first person to discover and further investigate health problems at the Love Canal. His research is credited with not only breaking open that case but with establishing toxic chemical wastes as a nationwide issu -
3 mile island nuclear accident
The Three Mile Island accident was a partial nuclear meltdown which occurred in one of the two Three Mile Island nuclear reactors in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States, on March 28, 1979. It was the worst accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant history.[1] The partial meltdown resulted in the release of small amounts of radioactive gases and radioactive iodine into the environment. Epidemiology studies have not linked a single instance of cancer with the accident.[2][3][4][5] T -
Alaskan Lands Act
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Bhopal,Indian
On 3 December 1984, a Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal leaked around 32 tons of toxic gases, including methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas which led to the worst industrial disaster to date. The official death toll was initially recorded around 5,000. Many figures suggest that 18,000 died within two weeks, and it is estimated that around 8,000 have died since then of gas-poisoning-related diseases.[17] The Greenpeace organization cites a total casualty figure of 20,000 as its own es -
Chernobyl
was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine (then officially the Ukrainian SSR), which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities of the Soviet Union. An explosion and fire released large quantities of radioactive particles into the atmosphere, which spread over much of the western USSR and Europe. The Chernobyl disaster is widely considered to have been the worst nuclear power plant accident in history, a -
Montreal Protocol
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (a protocol to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer) is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion. The treaty was opened for signature on 16 September 1987, and entered into force on 1 January 1989, followed by a first meeting in Helsinki, May 1989. Since then, it has undergone seven revisions -
World Population reaches 5 billion
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Exxon Valdez
an oil tanker that gained notoriety after running aground in Prince William Sound spilling hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil in Alaska. On March 24, 1989, while owned by the former Exxon Shipping Company, and captained by Joseph Hazelwood and first mate Edward Clementson bound for Long Beach, California, the vessel ran aground on the Bligh Reef resulting in the second largest oil spill in United States history -
Energy Policy oact of 1992
It was passed by Congress and addressed energy efficiency, energy conservation and energy management (Title I), natural gas imports and exports (Title II), alternative fuels and requiring certain fleets to acquire alternative fuel vehicles, which are capable of operating on nonpetroleum fuels (Title III-V), electric motor vehicles (Title VI), radioactive waste (Title VIII), coal power and clean coal (Title XIII), renewable energy (Title XII), and other issues. It reformed the Public Utility Hol -
Desert Protection Act
Designated 69 wilderness areas as additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System within the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA), the Yuma District, the Bakersfield District, and the California Desert District of the Bureau of Land Management. Permits grazing in such areas.[2 -
Julia Butterfly Hill sat in tree Luna for 700 days
Julia Lorraine Hill (known as Julia "Butterfly" Hill, born February 18, 1974) is an American activist and environmentalist. Hill is best known for living in a 180-foot (55 m)-tall, roughly 1500-year-old California Redwood tree (age based on first-hand ring count of a slightly smaller neighboring ancient redwood that had been cut down) for 738 days between December 10, 1997 and December 18, 1999. Hill lived in the tree, affectionately known as "Luna," to prevent loggers of the Pacific Lumber Comp -
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Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty that sets binding obligations on industrialised countries to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The UNFCCC is an environmental treaty with the goal of preventing "dangerous" anthropogenic (i.e., human-induced) interference of the climate system.[10] There are 192 parties to the convention, including 191 states (all the UN members, except Andorra, Canada, South Sudan and the Unit -
World Population reaches 6 billion
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World Population reaches 7 billion
