-
Publishing of Silent Spring
This book, written by Rachel Carson, helped inspire the environmental movement that would shape initiatives taken during the First Epoch. This book challenged the agricultural industries as she found that DDT in pesticides had harmful effects on humans. -
Period: to
The First Epoch
During the first phase of environmental regulation, movements focused on challenging businesses through passage and establishment of federal laws and organizations. During this time, business and environmentalists were at odds. -
Moon landing and the picture of the Earth
As the crew of the Apollo 11 touched down on the moon, the environmental movement was able to capture the importance of helping the environment as mankind saw how beautiful the planet was from space. This sense of connection gave people more of a reason to band together to help the Earth. -
Establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency
President Richard Nixon established the agency which has been in charge of setting standards for companies to measure to to curb pollution and environmental damage. -
Creation of the Love Canal Area Revitalization Agency
During the 1970's, citizens of Love Canal, New York, challenged the political system of the day to get retribution for the damage done to their newborns because of pollution by chemical dumping in their waterways. The Love Canal Area Revitalization Agency was made early into Reagan's presidency to fix and clean up the area. -
Inauguration of Ronald Reagan
The 1980 election reflected the general distrust of a strong federal government; electing Ronald Reagan became the symbolic gesture as such. During his presidency, he lowered the budget of the EPA and blamed environmentalists for the Fuel Crisis. -
Period: to
The Second Epoch
Amid the Fuel Crisis of the late 70's and early 80's, there was a shift in distrust of a strong federal government and thus environmental regulation became more splintered and not as focused. -
Bhopal disaster in India
Considered the world's worst industrial disaster, this incident occurred in Bhopal, India. A gas leak at the Union Carbide India Limited spread to poor towns built by the factory, leading to estimates of about 8,000 deaths. Exposure reached upwards to 500,000 people or more. For environmentalists, it showed how lax regulations can lead to horrible disasters. -
Kyoto Protocol
The global community met in Kyoto, Japan to attempt and pass international standards for regulating the environment. Because of conflict amidst drafting, it was not as powerful as it could have been, and the United States of America never ratified or followed the standards. -
Period: to
The Third Epoch
The phase we currently are in with regards to environmental regulation has offered a resurgence of importance, due to concerns of global climate change. To tackle this issue, international organizations and treaties have been formed and written while some of the worst natural disasters have occurred. -
The devastation of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina became the rallying call of environmentalists, as this showed the effects of climate change. This sort of massive natural disaster was only the first though, as an earthquake in Haiti and tsunami in Japan followed in the years to come.
