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Yellowstone Act
Congress passed Yellowstone Act: Yellowstone the first national park "dedicated and set apart as a public park. We should know about this act because it was the first time that land was set aside to be preserved and it led to other national parks being established and continue to be established today. This impacts our community because with this land, there will be fresher air in the areas and people can learn to appreciate nature. -
Burton Act
Burton Act Congress passed the Burton Act, which preserved Niagara Falls from hydroelectric power facilities. This is important because hydroelectric power facilities are a major cause of pollution. This impacts our community because we need to preserve waterfalls so that other people can admire their beauty. -
Raker Act: Hetch Hetchy
After a seven year debate between environmentalists and Californians seeking water rights, Congress
passed the Raker Act, authorizing the flooding of Hetch Hetchy Valley and the building of
O’Shaughnessy Dam, in Yosemite National Park. After years of debate, President Wilson signed the Raker A1913- Hetch Hetchy Valley flooding and building on O’Shaughnessy Dam- ct and it helped to preserve parks and forests that still exist today. -
National Park Service
National Park Service Congress established the National Park Service. Today there are approximately 400 national parks
across America, comprising approximately 4% of the entire U.S., or 84.6 billion acres of preserved
land. This is important because it’s the U.S. federal agency that is in charge of all national parks. National parks influence are community because they are places where people can admire and be in awe of nature. -
Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners
New York v. New Jersey and Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners:
New York sued New Jersey commissioners to stop dumping sewage in the New York harbor. The
U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of New Jersey, and the dumping continued. -
Survery of Air Pollution
Salt Lake City was the first U.S. city to conduct a large scale survey of air pollution. This was important because it was the first time that people were aware of how much air pollution there is. This impacts our community because it made people want to reduce air pollution. -
Emergency Conservation Work Act
As part of his New Deal plan during the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt asked
Congress to pass the Emergency Conservation Work Act. Because of this we now have more natural resources available to us and can prevent against future erosion. -
Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act
Congress passed the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act in an effort to control Dust Bowl
storms, erosion, land use and conservation. Over 100,000,000 acres of U.S. prairie land were affected
by the Dust Bowl.
Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act- This helped during the Dust Bowl because it protected so much land from erosion and other negative effects of the Dust Bowl. -
Bald Eagle Preservation Act 1940
Bald Eagle Protection Act Congress passed the Bald Eagle Preservation Act to prevent the extinction of the national symbol.
The bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list in 2007. Bald Eagle Preservation Act- This helped save the bald eagles from extinction and it affects our community because the bald eagle represents the freedom of our country. -
Silent Spring
Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, which warned about the dangers of pesticides, especially
DDT, to water supplies and wildlife. The federal government outlawed the use of pesticides like DDT
several years later. Thanks to Rachel Carson, we now understand how dangerous pesticides are and we can refrain from using them. -
Clean Air Act
Clean Air ActCongress passed the first Clean Air Act, which regulated air pollution and emissions. This is important to help keep our air clean and breathable not just for our generation, but for future generations. -
Wilderness Act
Congress passed the Wilderness Act, establishing the National Wilderness Preservation System to
“secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource
of wilderness.” By 2001, there were 90 million acres of preserved wilderness in the U.S. This is important because it preserved lots of land, which we can now use to admire nature’s beauty. -
WIld and Scenic Rivers Act
The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act passed by Congress and President Johnson to protect waterways from
pollution, commercialization, and development. This is important because it continues to preserve many of our waterways from pollution. -
Blue Marble
NASA released the “Blue Marble” photo of earth from space, giving Americans a first ‘outside’ look
at their planet. The photo helped raise awareness of environmental issues. This was the first time that people knew what the world looked like from space. Even from space, the destruction of the Earth was noticeable and it made people more aware that pollution and littering and drilling, etc. actually had an effect on the world. -
First Earth Day
The first Earth Day was celebrated by 20 million people across the country. Earth Day was first
organized by Gaylord Nelson, a former Wisconsin senator, and Denis Hayes, a Harvard graduate
student. Today, Earth Day is celebrated annually around the world. This was important Earth Day continues to be celebrated annually to remind people to conserve natural resources and reduce their carbon footprints. -
The Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency was established to “create and maintain conditions under
which man and nature can exist in productive harmony.” This agency continues to help the environment today. -
Endangered Species Act
Congress passed the Endangered Species Act to protect what are now known as Endangered Species
from possible extinction. Without this act, many species would have gone extinct from being hunted. -
Safe Drinking Water Act
Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act to be administered by the EPA, protecting Americans
from contaminated drinking water. The EPA still regulates public drinking water as a result of the act.
This act continues to benefit us by continually regulating our water to make sure that it is clean so that people don’t get sick from it. -
Alaska Naional Interest Lnds Conservation
Congress passed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, designating over 100 million
acres of parks, wildlife refuges, and wilderness areas throughout the state. This was important because it preserved lots of land to be preserved, which is good for the environment. -
Warning of Global Warmning
NASA warned Congress of the effects of global warming. This is important because Congress actually took NASA’s warning into consideration since they are such an important agency. -
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
The Exxon Valdez oil spill dumped 11 million gallons of oil, devastating Prince William Sound off
the coast of Alaska, and images of oil-soaked ocean life flood American homes. Spill results in Exxon
v. Baker. This was really bad for the environment because it killed hundreds of thousands of birds and thousands of otters. -
"Environmentalists"
A gallop poll found that 76% of Americans considered themselves “environmentalists.” This is important because it means that many people will be willing to help the environment. -
David Chain
David Chain was killed by a tree felled by foresters while protesting in a forest to protect the
destruction of old-growth redwood trees. This shows the dedication that many people have towards the environment. -
An Inconveient Truth
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore released An Inconvenient Truth, and the following year, won the
Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to raise awareness about global warming. This convinced many people that Global Warming exists and made many people passionate about this issue. -
New Air Quality Standards
The EPA Issued New Air Quality Standards to control daily “small” or “fine” particulate matter—
soot, dust, and particles too small to see. Fine particulate matter, which pollutes the air, comes from
things like car exhaust, smokestacks, and coal-fired power plants. -
Live Earth Concerts
Live Earth Concerts Live Earth concerts around the world featured Madonna, the Black Eyed Peas, the Red Hot Chili
Peppers, Metallica, and the Beastie Boys, to raise awareness of climate change. This got many people excited about the environmental issues and also raised a lot of money to raise awareness.
