History of the Environmental Movement

  • Population reaches 1 billion

  • Population reaches 2 billion

  • Founding of IUCN

    Being the largest environmental network, the focus is to find solutions to ecological problems. They also provide aid to communities facing environmental challenges.
  • The Air Pollution Control Act was passed

    Became the first piece of legislation that addressed air pollution. It provided funds for federal research in air pollution.
  • Minamata

    It was a mercury poisoning that affected people who consumed the wastewater from a chemical plant in Minamata City. The results were devastating, even life-lasting for some. The Minamata Mercury Convention was created in honor of this.
  • Population reaches 3 billion

  • Rachel Carson's Silent Spring Published

    The book exposed the dangerous and damaging effects on using pesticides. It argued that overusing them would disrupt the ecosystem. It is seen as the beginning of modern environmentalist movement.
  • First Earth Day

    It was founded to provide unity on environmental movements and raise ecological awareness. This led to the creation of the U.S. Environment Protection Agency and other legislations.
  • Gaia Hypothesis

    States that all organisms, including nonliving ones, are part of a system and are related, where they maintain living conditions on the Earth.
  • Marine Mammal Protection Act

    Created to protect marine animals from any form of harassments. It prohibits the illegal possession of these animals.
  • Chipko Movement

    A non-violent movement led by rural women that focused on the protection and conservation of trees and maintaining the ecological balance.
  • Population reaches 4 billion

  • Whaling (save the whale)

    It is the first anti-whaling campaign in the world. This initiative helped ban the commercializing on whales internationally. Its purpose is to preserve the ocean and its inhabitants.
  • Energy Tax Act

    First time using taxes and tax credits to encourage the use of fuel efficiency and renewal energy. The goal was to change from oil gas to energy conservation.
  • Three Mile Island

    The reactors on the plant malfunctioned and eventually stopped working, causing the release of radioactive gases that led to the evacuation of thousands of people.
  • Bhogal

    Considered one of the worst industrial accident, a pesticide plant leaked tons of highly toxic and poisonous gases to the environment, killing between 3 to 16 thousand people and future consequences.
  • Nature Magazine Ozone Hole Article

    It provided evidence that confirmed a hole in the ozone over the Antarctic. The post created a big amount of media attention and new people wanting to unite to the environmental movement.
  • Chernobyl

    A reactor in a nuclear power plants exploded, which released 200 tons of radioactive materials into the air, resulting in the exit of the population and killing thousands of people due to exposure.
  • Population reaches 5 billion

  • Montreal Protocol

    An international agreement made to limit the production and use of ozone depleting substances and reduce their concentration to make better the planet's ozone layer.
  • Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

    11 million gallons of oil were spilled into the ocean by the Exxon Shipping Company. It killed hundreds of thousands of animals. Years later, oil is still remaining in the spot of the incident.
  • Kyoto

    It is an international agreement where countries agree to reduce greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide. There are 192 members.
  • Population reaches 6 billion

  • Documentary Film An Inconvenient Truth released

    A documentary that confesses that global warming is real, caused by humans, and insists that if people do not act immediately, the results will be catastrophic.
  • Population reaches 7 billion

  • The Paris Agreement

    Labeled as the first ever legally binding climate change agreement, it aims to reduce the greenhouse gas emission and limit the global temperature increase.