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(Timetoast system required a date, but this event took place 13 billion years ago. Listed date is innacurate) The explosion responsible for the creation of the universe. -
Aristarchus of Samos concludes that, instead of the sun revolving around Earth like many Greeks had thought, the Earth is in orbit around the sun. -
Greek astronomer Hipparchus creates the first scientifically accurate catalogue of 850 mapped stars. -
Chinese and Japanese astronomers watch the emergence of what is known today as the Crab Nebula. -
A Polish astronomer, Nicholas Copernicus, supports Aristarchus's theory about the Earth revolving around the sun and publishes a book about it. -
Galileo Galilei, a famous inventor and astronomer, creates a new telescope and observes Jupiter and its many moons. -
Philadelphia committee led by Benjamin Franklin attempts to regulate waste disposal and water pollution.
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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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The first artificial satellite, Sputnik, is sent into space by the USSR -
Russian astronomers send a dog, named Laika,into space. Unfortunately, Laika did not return to Earth. -
Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring
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The Apollo 8 picture of Earthrise
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April 22. Millions of people gather in the United States for the first Earth Day. US Environmental Protection Agency established
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Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer entered into force
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The Hubble Space Telescope is launched into orbit to photograph space images. -
The Kyoto Protocol was negotiated in Kyoto, Japan in December. Countries that ratify this protocol commit to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide
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In collaboration with USA, Russia, Japan, Canada, and Europe, the first model of an international space station is launched. -
U.S. rejects the Kyoto Protocol
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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