History of Environmental Movement

By Murdoch

  • Paul Ehrlich butterfly studies

    Paul Ehrlich butterfly studies
    Paul Ehrlich notices a shortage of butterflies because they are spraying a poison called DDT in New Jersey.

  • New York City smog deaths

    New York City smog deaths
    In New York City there were smog deaths. It happened again a few years later.

  • Rachel Carson's Silent Spring

    Rachel Carson's Silent Spring
    Silent Spring was published and it started the Environmental Movement. DDT found in human tissue had tripled. Chemical companies thought the book wasn't true. President Kennedy had his people go over the claims in the book. Soon DDT would be banned in the US.

  • First photo of Earth taken from space

    First photo of Earth taken from space
    The first photo of Earth taken from space was called "Earthrise". It is the iconic image of the Environmental movement.

  • Santa Barbara oil well blowout

    Santa Barbara oil well blowout
    Due to the massive oil spill in California the energy industry reforms.

  • Cuyahoga River on fire

    Cuyahoga River on fire
    The Cuyahoga River caught on fire because of oil floating on the surface. The flames were five stories high.

  • National Environmental Policy Act

    National Environmental Policy Act
    Every federal agency has to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for any legislation. It was caused by the Santa Barbara oil spill.

  • First Earth Day

    First Earth Day
    The first Earth Day ever was a nationwide protest against environmental ignorance. It was the largest demonstration ever in American history.

  • Environmental Protection Agency

    Environmental Protection Agency
    President Nixon and Congress made the EPA to be responsible for environmental policy. They are responsible for research, environmental legislation and ecological programs.

  • National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration

    National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
    NOAA is created to monitor conditions of the oceans.

  • Clean Water Act

    Clean Water Act
    The Clean Water Act is legislation governing water pollution in this country. It's goal is to eliminate toxic substances in the water.

  • Marine Mammal Protection Act

    Marine Mammal Protection Act
    The Marine Mammal Protection Act protects all animals from hunting, capture, or any harassment.

  • DDT is banned in the US

    DDT is banned in the US
    DDT becomes banned in the United States because of Silent Spring, Rachel Carson's book. It took 10 years of legislated battles.

  • Endangered Species Act

    Endangered Species Act
    In December 1973 congress passed the Endangered Species Act to protect all of the animals from extinction.

  • Toxic Substances Control Act

    Toxic Substances Control Act
    The Toxic Substances Control Act makes EPA control all toxic chemical substances in the US.

  • Love Canal Disaster and Superfund legislation (1978)

    Love Canal Disaster and Superfund legislation (1978)
    A reporter discovers that long term chemical dumping at Love Canal caused a lot of birth defects and miscarriages.
    Because of that the "Superfund" legislation forces companies to clean up their old dump sites.

  • Montreal Protocol (1987)

    Montreal Protocol (1987)
    The Montreal Protocol is signed by the US and other countries agreeing to get rid of CFCs by 2000.