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Pennsylvania colony governor William Penn ordered colonists to conserve one tree for every five cut down.
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The Lacey Act prohibited the transport of illegally obtained wildlife across state lines, and outlawed hunting in Yellowstone National Park.
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Congress established the National Park Service. Today there are approximately 400 national parks across America, comprising approximately 4% of the entire U.S., or 84.6 billion acres of preserved land.
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Salt Lake City was the first U.S. city to conduct a large scale survey of air pollution.
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Congress passed the Bald Eagle Preservation Act to prevent the extinction of the national symbol. The bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list in 2007.
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President Johnson signed the Water Quality Act to strengthen federal water pollution laws and outline water quality guidelines for states.
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NASA warned Congress of the effects of global warming.
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The Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, resulting in the signing of the Convention on Climate Change and the Earth Charter, a global pledge to control global warming.
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Live Earth concerts around the world featured Madonna, the Black Eyed Peas, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, and the Beastie Boys, to raise awareness of climate change.
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Great Lakes Compact signed by all eight Great Lakes states in an attempt to prevent distribution and sale of water to non-regions.
