History of Environmental Movement Timeline.

  • World Population Reaches 1 Billion

  • World Population Reaches 2 Billion

  • Dust Bowl

    Worst dust storm recorded in U.S. history. Millions of tons of topsoil were displaced in the Great Plains. Caused degraded soil, human health, and air quality.
  • Founding of IUCN

    Established in 1948 in Fontainebleau, France.
    Worked to see the impact humans had on nature.
    World's largest and most diverse environmental network.
  • The Great Smog of London

    Clouds of coal smoke and fog filled the air. All transportation in the city was put on hold. Over 700 people died. Gave insight on the air pollution of cities and the adverse effects.
  • Minamata

    Minamata City residents ingested fish/shellfish contaminated with toxic chemicals that humans had dumped into the ocean. This caused mercury poisoning that caused a variety of medical issues.
  • World Population Reaches 3 Billion

  • Rachel Carlson's Silent Spring published.

    Book published that argued for an end to DDT, one of the first developed synthetic pesticide.
  • Gaia thesis

    Initially proposed by James Lovelock, states that the earth self regulates to sustain life. A new way of thinking at the time.
  • Migratory Bird Treaty Act

    Eagles and other migratory birds gain protection. Treaty involves US, Canada, Japan, Mexico, and Russia. Federal governments took charge of the protection of birds and Eagles left the endangered species list.
  • World Population Reaches 4 Billion

  • Whaling (save the whales)

    Organization started with the mission to preserve the ocean and its inhabitants. They believe that education is the best way to save everyone
  • Bhopal

    40 tons of methyl isocyanate. More than 600,000 people exposed to the gas and caused the death of 15,000 people.
  • South Pole Research

    Researchers discovered that chlorofluorocarbons were breaking down ozone layer in stratosphere near the south pole. The hole stretches up to 11.6 million square miles. This lead to the end of commercial CFC usage.
  • Chernobyl

    A flawed reactor in Ukraine caused radiation leaks. 350,000 people had to relocate for health concerns. 54 people died immediately.
  • World Population Reaches 5 Billion

  • Papua New Guinea’s Panguna Mine War

    Began over the Panguana Mine. Over 20,000 were killed. Today the Mine is closed. The wildlife and terrain of the area was destroyed due to the war.
  • Ecuador’s Amazon Degradation

    Events that occurred until 2008. lost more than 475,000 hectares of rainforest in the Amazon.
  • Kuwaita Oil Fires

    Iraqi forces set over 650 wells of oil on fire. After they spewed the oil into the desert and Persian Gulf. Had an adverse affect on human and wildlife health.
  • kyoto

    international treaty that extended UNFCCC to reduce greenhouse emissions, effective Feb 2005. This caused many nations to take action against greenhouse gases.
  • World Population Reaches 6 Billion

  • Inconvenient Truth

    Al Gore's push for action on climate change. This was a very popular doc that grossed 4th highest of all time.
  • Niger Delta Oil Pollution

    Occurred in 2008 and 2009. Oil leaked into rivers and creeks killing many fish. The organization that caused the oil spill paid 55 million in compensation.
  • World Population Reaches 7 Billion

  • Fukushima Nuclear Accident

    Various natural disasters hit a nuclear powerplant and caused for the deaths of up to 18,000 people. This showed the dangers of having energy plants close to the human population.
  • Great Pacific Garbage Patch

    Largest ocean research expedition. 30 vessels that travelled from CA to HI. The expedition gave the world insight on how large plastic pollution of the world has gathered.