Review of events from the 19th century to the 21st century Good review for a APES class

1. AP ENVIRONMENTAL
SCIENCE
Timeline August 2011

2. THOMAS MALTHUS (1798)
Predicted that exponential population growth would outpace
linear food production, which leads to starvation

3. HENRY DAVID THOREAU (1845)
Believed in being simple and self sufficient. Author of Walden or,
Life in the Woods

4. YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (1872)
First National Park, created by Ulysses S. Grant

5. LONDON FOG (1880)
Coal Burning brought a toxic fog that came over London with
high levels of sulfur dioxide, killing thousands of people

6. SIERRA CLUB (1892)
John Muir founded the Sierra Club. He founded the club in order
for us to explore and enjoy nature, but at the same time, protect it

7. LACEY ACT (1900)
The Lacy Act simply stated that you can’t kill birds without
paying the state

8. THEODORE ROOSEVELT (1901-1909)
A conservationist who was the 1st Environmental President. He
started the Golden Age of Conservation.

9. PELICAN ISLAND (1903)
The first national wildlife refugee

10. FOREST SERVICE (1905)
Pinchot believed in using the forests, but also protecting them for future
generations, utilizing the resources wisely. The Forest Service is used to
administer the national forests.

11. DUST BOWL (1934-1940)
A drought occurred, and the citizens used bad farming
techniques which led to the soil depleting and starvation.

12. DONORA, PENNSYLVANIA (1948)
The first major air quality disaster. The weather trapped toxic fumes
and it moved into the city to kill 20 people and made 7,000 ill

13. SAND COUNTY ALMANAC (1949)
The author, Leopold wrote about living on the land, he told us
that we should treat the land ethically.

14. LONDON SMOG (1952)
The Coal Burning was producing smoke, and because of this unusual weather
patterns trapped the toxic smoke and brought it into the city killing thousands

15. MINAMATA, JAPAN (1953)
A company was dumping Mercury into a nearby bay, which led into the sea
and contaminated the fish with Mercury, people died because of the poisoning

16. SILENT SPRING (1962)
Rachel Carson cautioned about pesticides, and DDT. She is the
mother of the Environmental Science movement.

17. POLLUTION OF LAKE EERIE (1965-1969)
The lake was polluted badly

18. POPULATION BOMB (1968)
A book that explained the phenomenon about too many people with
not enough resources to provide for them, can eventually lead to famine

19. TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS (1968)
Shared resources that’s common, but some people get greedy
and act selfishly and unfairly

20. CUYAHOGA RIVER FIRE (1969)
The river was so badly polluted it caught on fire

21. NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT (1969)
1st comprehensive Environmental Law. No construction if it
negatively affects the environment.

22. CLEAN AIR ACT (1970)
Sets limits for air pollutants to keep our air healthy

23. EPA ESTABLISHED (1970)
Nixon established the EPA

24. FIRST EARTH DAY (1970)
April 22nd. The First Earth Day was arranged by students
universities and such.

25. CLEAN WATER ACT (1972)
Regulated pollution in water, it sets maximum limits in drinkable
water.

26. OPEC OIL EMBARGO (1973)
They stopped shipping the US oil, diminishes the US oil

27. LOVE CANAL (1978)
Landfill for the Hooker Chemical Company and made people
die

28. THREE MILE ISLAND (1979)
Located in Pennsylvania, it was the worst nuclear disaster of all
time

29. BHOPAL, INDIA (1984)
World’s worst industrial disaster, the gases dropped down by
wheather and killed thousands of people. The Union Carbide.

30. CHERNOBYL (1986)
At Chernobyl, reactor 4 exploded, and a plume of toxic gases
spurred and became the World’s worst nuclear explosion.

31. MONTREAL PROTOCOL (1987)
Treaty designed to protect the ozone layer. Single most successful
international agreement. Banned the use of CFCs among others.

32. EXXON VALDEZ (1989)
One of the worst disasters that occurred at sea. An oil tanker
struck a reef spilling millions of gallons into the ocean.

33. KYOTO PROTOCOL (1997)
Treaty to stabilize the Green House gases, contributing an effort
to stop global warming.

34. DEEP WATER HORIZON (2010)
The BP oil spill, the biggest accidental spill in history

35. FUKUSHIMA, JAPAN (2011)
Huge radiation triggered after a nuclear reactor exploded due
to an earthquake that triggered a tsunami.