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The IUCN, or International Union for Conservation of Nature, is comprised of government and nongovernment organizations who aim to preserve and sustain natural resources. The IUCN is the world's largest environmental network, with it aiming to raise awareness about sustainable development.
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Silent Spring, written by Rachel Carson, was a world renowned book that brought to light the dangers of chemical pesticides for both the environment and humans. The book caused a strong public reaction, and eventually led to the ban on the chemical DDT, which was known to be harmful. The impact of the publishment led to a modern environmental movement and public awareness on the dangers of pesticides.
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The first ever Earth day was a nationwide environmental event organized by the US senator Gaylord Nelson to raise awareness about pollution and the environment. Earth day resulted in a massive public movement and is an annual tradition to this day.
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Greenpeace is an international environmental organization that uses peaceful protests and creative forms of communication to expose environmental problems. It brought global issues to attention such as climate change and deforestation. Greenpeace impacted the public's opinion and pressured corporations to adopt more sustainable practices, pushing for renewable energy and protecting land.
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The Love Canal disaster occurred when a neighborhood in Niagara falls, New York was found to be built on top of 21,000 tons of underground toxic waste. It was important because it showed Americans the danger of toxic waste when not properly disposed of. The impact of the disaster was the Comprehensive Environmental Response, compensation, and liability act, which established a massive trust fund to clean up Americas toxic waste sites. It also brought to attention the importance cleaning waste.
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The Montreal Protocol was an international treaty created to protect the earths ozone layer by cutting out harmful chemicals that are known for damaging the layer. The protocol not only helped replenish the ozone layer but reduce the use of harmful greenhouse gasses.
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The Exxon Valdez was a large ship carrying over 53 million gallons of oil before crashing and spilling it all into Alaskan waters. The spill devastated the natural marine ecosystems, resulting in many native animal populations dying. This incident resulted in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which required stricter regulations for oil transport.
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The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty in Kyoto, Japan with goals to reduce emissions. In the agreement, industrialized countries had to limit their usage of greenhouse gasses. The Kyoto Protocol today is known as the first international agreement towards stopping climate change.
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The Paris Agreement was an international treaty on climate change adopted by 196 countries at the United Nations Climate Change Conference. The agreement provided a framework towards a global climate change effort, and influence many countries to step into a cleaner future.