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Philadelphia committee led by Benjamin Franklin attempts to regulate waste disposal and water pollution
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Declaration of Independence
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Constitution of the United States of America
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Louisiana Purchase
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Battle of New Orleans
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Henry David Thoreau publishes Walden
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The term ecology is coined in German as Oekologie by Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel
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The term acid rain is coined by Robert Angus Smith in the book Air and Rain
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The term smog is coined by Henry Antoine Des Voeux in a London meeting to express concern over air pollution
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US Congress created the National Park Service
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1929
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Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring
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The Apollo 8 picture of Earthrise
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Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
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First Earth Day – April 22. Millions of people gather in the United States for the first Earth Day. US Environmental Protection Agency established
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PATCO Strike
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Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer entered into force
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The Kyoto Protocol was negotiated in Kyoto, Japan in December. Countries commit to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide
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The Monica Lewinsky Affair
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U.S. rejects the Kyoto Protocol
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9/11 Attack
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U.S. announces it will cease participation in the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation
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U.S. announces it will rejoin the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation