Environmental timeline

  • Start of the Dust bowl in America

    The combination of aggressive/poor farming techniques, drought conditions, and high winds, created massive dust storms that drove thousands from their homes
  • End of the dust bowl

    After rain started pouring in the Great Plains erasing the heavy drought , the dust down finally ended
  • Ten national parks are established in the UK

    Pretty self explanatory, Peak distract was the first area designed as a national park (1951). The rest followed in that decade.
  • Minamata bay disaster

    A disease that came from consuming fish and selfish with MeHg caused by the water waste of a chemical plant.
  • C.I.T.E.S formed by IUCN

    Global agreement between governments to protect species that are under threat from international trade (worldwildlife.org)
  • Green parties are formed around the world

    Governments are put under pressure with new green parties showing up in politics
  • Bhopal disaster

    45 tons of gas methyl isocyanate escaped and turned the city of Bhopal into a gas chamber, it was India’s first industrial disaster
  • Chernobyl disaster

    A failed experiment lead an explosion and fire in the No.4 reactor, causing mass amounts of radiation into the atmosphere.
  • Montreal protocol

    Treaty designed to protect the ozone layer
  • IPCC is formed by the UNEP

    IPCC is responsible for sharing scientific information with all governments that they can use to develop climate policies
  • Papua New Guinea’s Panguna Mine War: Outside source

    After the mine is opened in 1972, about one billion tons of mining waste containing sulfur, arsenic, copper, zinc, cadmium, and mercury is dumped into the local river system caused a decade long revolt against the government. In 2000 island residents sue Rio Tinto in U.S. federal court
  • Hurricane Katrina (outside source)

    killing at least 1,836 people and causing $81 billion in property damage after levees break In New Orleans
  • Kyoto protocol becomes a requirement

    174 countries signed and are expected to reduce carbon admissions by 15% by 2012