Robert's Timeline

Agricultural Revolution

Jan 1, 1501

A period of Agricultural Development in Britain between the 15th and 19th century, which saw an increase in productivity and net output that broke the historical food scarcity cycles.

Industrial Revolution

Jan 1, 1750

Changes in agricultural, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology.

John Muir is born

Apr 21, 1838

John Muir was born in Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland on April 21st 1838. He later became an engineer,naturalist, writer, botanist, and geologist.

Walden

Aug 9, 1854

American book written by Henry David Thoreau

Homestead Act

May 20, 1862

Originally consisted of grants totaling 160 acres of unappropriated federal land within the boundaries of the public land states.

Yellowstone National Park founded

Mar 1, 1872

Yellowstone National Park is located in the US state of Wyoming and extends into Montana and Idaho. Yellowstone is know for it's diverse wildlife and geothermal features.

American Forestry Association founded

Sep 1, 1875

The AFA was formed in Chicago, Illinois. The organization acts as a clearinghouse for environmental organizations working to preserve world tree growth.

Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks founded

Sep 25, 1890

Yosemite National Park was founded October 1st 1890. Sequoia National Park was founded in September 25th 1890. Both parks are know for beautiful sights and large portions of land.

General Revision Act

Jan 1, 1891

Created forest preserves. About 16 million acres of forest land were set a side for federal use in the Yellowstone region.

Sierra Club founded

May 28, 1892

The Sierra Club was founded to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth.

Lacey Act

May 25, 1900

The Lacey Act protect both plants and wildlife by creating civil and criminal penalties for a wide array of violations.

Golden Age of Conservation

Jan 1, 1901

Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir worked together to preserve hundreds of acres of land in the U.S.

First National wildlife refuge established

Jan 1, 1903

The mission of the wildlife refuge is to manage a national network of lands and waters for the conservbation, management, and restoration of fish, plants and wildlife.

Gifford Pinchot

Jan 1, 1905

Served as first chief of the U.S. Forest Service

Audubon Society founded

Jan 1, 1905

The Audubon Society was founded to preserve and dedicate their time to conserve the environment.

U.S. forest service founded

Feb 1, 1905

Administrates the nations 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands.

Antiquities Act

Jun 8, 1906

This act gave permission to the president to restrict the use of particular public land owned by the federal government

U.S. National Park service founded

Jan 1, 1912

U.S. National Park is a federal agency that that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations.

Dust Bowl

Jan 1, 1930

A period of severe dust storms causing major agricultural damage to American and Canadian lands.

Soil Conservation Service founded

Apr 20, 1932

The SCS is an agency of the US Department of Agriculture that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners and managers.

Civilian Conservation Corps founded

Jan 1, 1933

The CCC was a public program for unemplyed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18-25.

Taylor Grazing Act

Jan 28, 1934

The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 provides for the regulation of grazing on the public lands.

Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act

Mar 16, 1934

Stamp required by the US federal government to hunt migratory duck and geese.

Fish plus Wildlife service founded

Jun 30, 1940

The FWS is an agency with goals in working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats.

Silent Spring

Sep 27, 1962

This book was written by Rachel Carson in 1962 and helped the launch of the American environmental movement.

Wilderness Act

Jan 1, 1963

The Wilderness Act was written by Howard Zahniser and it protected 9.1 million acres of federal land.

Clear Air Act ('63, '65, '70, '77, '90)

Jan 1, 1963

Federal law that regulates air emissions from stationary and mobile sources.

Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

Oct 2, 1968

This act protected wild rivers and scenic rivers.

NEPA(National Environmental Policy Act)

Jan 1, 1969

U.S. national policy promoting the enhancement of the environment

Cuyahoga River catches on fire

Jun 22, 1969

The Cuyahoga River located in Cleveland, Ohio caught on fire for being extremely polluted.

First Earth Day

Mar 20, 1970

This holiday was created to be aware and appreciate the earths environment.

Environmental Protection Agency

Dec 2, 1970

The purpose of EPA is to protect human health and the environment by writting and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by congress.

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodentcide Control('72, '75, '78', '88)

Jan 1, 1972

U.S. federal law assigned to protect applicators, consumers, and the environment from pesticides.

OPEC oil embargo

Jan 1, 1973

The OPEC oil embargo was a shortage of oil being exported from the Middle East.

Endangered Species Act

Dec 28, 1973

This law was signed by president Richard Nixon to protect critically imperiled species from extinction.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

Jan 1, 1976

The RCRA was formed in 1976 to control and properly handle hazardous waste.

Clean Water Act

Jan 1, 1977

This act established the goals of eliminating releases of large amounts of toxic substances into water.

Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act

Aug 3, 1977

The SMCRA is a federal law that regulates the environmental effects of coal mining in the US.

Love Canal, NY

Jan 1, 1978

Site where a company called Hooker Chemical buried 21,000 tons of toxic waste.

3 Mile Island Nuclear accident

Mar 28, 1979

This nuclear meltdown was at Three Mile Island power plant in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. It released small amounts of radioactive gases and radioactive iodine into the environment.

CERCLA('80, '86, '90)

Jan 1, 1980

CERCLA was created to clean up sites contaminated with hazaardous substances.

Bhopal, India

Dec 3, 1984

This event was a leakage of 32 tons of toxic gases, including methyl isocyanate, that killed more than 20,000 people.

Chernobyl Meltdown, Ukraine

Apr 26, 1986

This event was a nuclear explosion in Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant which released large amounts of radioactive gases into the atmosphere.

Montreal Protocol

Sep 16, 1987

The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer

Exxon Valdez oil spill

Mar 24, 1989

This oil spill occured in Prince William Sound, Alaska, when an oil tanker called Exxon Valdez was headed to Long Beach, California and hit Price Williams Bligh Reef and spilled 260,000 to 750,000 barrels of crude oil.

Energy Policy Act of 1992

Jan 1, 1992

This act was passed by Congress to adress energy efficiency, energy conservation and energy management.

Desert Protection Act

Oct 8, 1994

This act was signed by president Bill Clinton, which established Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Parks and Mojave National Reserve in the California Desert

Kyoto Protocol

Dec 11, 1997

Set obligations on industrialized countries to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

World population hits 6 billion

Feb 1, 1999

World population hits billion in 1999.

Gulf of Mexico oil spill

May 24, 2010

This event occured on the Gulf of Mexico when an explosion occured at the location of the oil drilling site. Approximately 4.9 million barrels of oil were spilled onto the Gulf of Mexico.

World population hits 7 billion

Jan 1, 2011

World population hits 7 billion in 2011