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YellowStone Act
Congress made Yellowstone the first national park to set aside land for a public and the preservation of nature. We chose this event because Yellowstone was the first established national park. This is of significance because it allows us to preserve nature so that we can still see a natural environment without many human interventions. -
Burton Act
It was passed in order to preserve Niagara Falls from hydroelectric power facilities. We chose this event because it is a significant attempt at conserving nature. By keeping it from human intervention, it remains as one of most aesthetic sites for the community and tourists. -
Georgia v. Tennessee Copper Co. and Ducktown Sulphur
Supreme Court ruled in favor of Georgia that the Tennessee Copper Company must regulate fumes that traveling across state lines. We chose this event because it is a beginning step towards regulating pollution. Due to this we are able to live our daily lives without worry about pollution from more industrial states such as Louisiana. -
National Park Service
Congress established the Natonal Park Service to preserve land. We chose this event because strengthened the number of national parks that are present today. -
New York v. New Jersey and Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners
New York sued New Jersey to stop dumping sewage into New York Harbor, and the Supreme Court ruled in favor of New Jersey. The dumping continued. We chose this event because it highlights how many people do not care for the environment. -
President Franklin Roosevelt New Deal Plan CCC
CCC
Roosevelt recruited thousands of unemployed young men into a "peacetime army", or "Roosevelt's tree army", called the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). They protected against erosion and destruction of nautral resources. We chose this event because it is a major decision by a president to begin conserving nature which helps the community look green. -
Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act
Congress passed this in an effort to control Dust Bowl storms, erions, land use and conservation. We chose this event because it demonstrates how the power of the government is able to aid an entire area devastated by natural disasters. -
Everglades National Park
President Truman established the National Park. We chose this event because prior to the establishment of the park literature was powerful enough to convince Truman to preserve nature. Therefore showing that political power can help preserve nature for the community. -
Silent Spring
Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, which warned about the dangers of pesticides to water and wildlife. We chose this event because it is another example of how literature influenced the views on preservation of nature. -
Clean Air Act
Congress passed the Clean Air Act, which regulated air pollution and emissions. We chose this event because it is one of the first examples of regulating air pollution. This regulation helps us breathe in cleaner air. -
NASA "Blue Marble" Photo
NASA released a photo of earth from space giving Americans an "outside" look at their planet. We chose this event because it helped raise awareness in people about environmental issues. -
National Environmental Policy Act
This Act demanded that all branches of government give proper consideration to the environment prior to building airports, buildings, military complexes, highways, parks, and other projects. This was chosen because it was one of the first laws to establish and national framework for environmental protection. -
Cuyahoga River Fire
Heavily polluted with chemicals floating atop the water, Cuyahoga River caught fire, which Time magazine published in an article. This event was chosen because it sparked wide awareness about the dangers and effects of pollution. -
First Earth Day
The first Earth Day is celebrated by the United States. It was first organized by Gaylord Nelson and Denis Hayes. Significant because it would continue for years to come up through today. -
Endangered Species Act
Congress introduces the Endangered Species Act, which now protects endangered species from possible extinction. This is important because it regulates and protects wildlife from becoming extinct. -
Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill et al.
The federal government, through the TVA, began construction on a $80 million dam one the Little Tennessee River when an endangered species, the snail darter, was found upstream. The potential flooding of the reservoir would cause considerable harm to the species so the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Hill, the scientist who discovered the fish. Chosen because it was the first major federal action on endangered species since the Act's passage. -
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
Established to provide funds for cleaning of uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites, along with accidents, spills, andother emergency releases of pollutants or contaminants into the environment. Selected because the program is influential in cleaning up or helping clean up biohazards around the country, active to today. -
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act
Congress passes the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act which designated over 100 million acres of parks, wildlife refuges, and wilderness areas throughout the state. We chose this because it was a significant step in federal intervention for wildlife preserves keeping the enivronment clean. -
Montreal Protocol
The Montreal Protocol was an international treaty that was made to eleminate ozone-depleting hydrocarbons from the environment. It is also deemed the best example of international cooperation to date. This was selected because the treaty has significantly reduced dangerous hydrocarbons around the world. -
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil off the coast of Alaska at Prince William Sound. This resulted in Exxon v. Baker. The images of the oil soaked ocean viewed by Americans showed the dangers of extracting minerals from the earth and how cautious they should be. It makes us more careful of what we put in our waters. -
Oil Pollution Act
Oil Pollution Act stated the EPA's ability to prevent and clean oil spills. This is important because oil spills heavily damage the aqua life. Therefore cleaning and preventing oil spills is important to save both animals and water plants. -
Kyoto Protocol
Countries around the world pledged to reduce the emission of gasses. Due to global warming there seems to be an increase in unusual weather patterns and there is also a gazing hole in our ozone layer, Something that protects us from UV rays. -
An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth
U.S. Vice President Al Gore released an "Inconvenient Truth" and won the Nobel for his attempt in raising awareness of Global Warming. This is a significant to the environmental movement because Al Gore is helping to spread the word that our environment is being heavily polluted making us think about having a more sustainable life. -
Massachusetts v. EPA
Massachusetts filed a suit agianst EPA for not establishing a greenhouse gas requirement. EPA argues that they can't handle state affairs, but they lost. Due to this states are able to regulate laws for greenhouse gases. Therefore we can live in a cleaner state due to the regulations. -
San Francisco Oil Spill
A South Korean ship struck a tower spilling 58,000 gallons of oil in the San Francisco bay. Many seabirds we injured or dead. According to the scientists, this spill could threaten marine life and sea birds for years. Aftrer the spill, oil could be spotted 15 miles away. We chose this because this shows how fragile marine life can become due to one spill. This affects the environment because not only does oil spills dirty up the beaches we like to play on, but it also harms many animals.
