Earth Day timeline
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Publication of Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring"
Silent Spring is a book written by Rachel Carson and published by Houghton Mifflin in September 1962. The book is widely credited with helping... Read more
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Clean Air Act
The Clean Air Act (P.L. 88-206 77, Stat. 401) established a program to help clean up dirty air and to maintain clean air. Congress extended its... Read more
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Cuyahoga River Catches Fire, Setting Off a Series of Pollution Control Legislation
On June 22, 1969, the Cuyahoga River caught on fire. This dramatic event, which got international news coverage, is still a reminder of the need to... Read more
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Founding of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
The NRDC was co-founded by John Adams in 1970. The organization lobbies Congress and other public officials for a public policy that promotes... Read more
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First Earth Day
Earth Day was first observed on April 22, 1970, when an estimated 20 million people nationwide attended the inaugural event. Senator Gaylord... Read more
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Creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency
On July 9, 1970, President Nixon transmitted Reorganization Plan No. 3 to the United States Congress by executive order, creating the EPA as a... Read more
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Passage of the Clean Air Act Extension of 1970, Leading to the Adoption of Catalytic Converters
The Clean Air Act Extension of 1970 (84 Stat. 1676, Public Law 91-604) is a United States federal law that requires the Environmental Protection... Read more
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United States DDT Ban Takes Effect
An end to the continued domestic usage of the pesticide was decreed on June 14, 1972, when William D. Ruckelshaus, Administrator of the... Read more
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Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972 (Clean Water Act)
The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Commonly abbreviated as the CWA, the act established... Read more
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Safe Drinking Water Act
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the principal federal law in the United States that ensures safe drinking water for the public. Pursuant to... Read more
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Three Mile Island Accident at Nuclear Generating Station
The Three Mile Island accident was a partial core meltdown in Unit 2 (a pressurized water reactor manufactured by Babcock & Wilcox) of the Three... Read more
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Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), Commonly Called Superfund, is Signed into Law
Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), a United States... Read more
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Chernobyl Disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist... Read more
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Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer Enters into Force
The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer (a protocol to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer) is an... Read more
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Exxon Valdez Strikes Bligh Reef, Causing Disastrous Oil Spill at Sea
The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in the Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 23, 1989. It is considered one of the most devastating... Read more
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Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 Goes Into Effect, Expanding the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI)
The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) is a publicly available database containing information on toxic chemical releases and other waste management... Read more
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First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit
The Environmental Justice Movement (EJM) is a confluence of social and environmental movements which deals with Environmental Justice In the early... Read more
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Signing of First Partnerships Between Manufacturers and US EPA to Implement Energy Star Program
Energy Star is an international standard for energy efficient consumer products. It was first created as a United States government program by the... Read more
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US Clean Air Act is Amended to Ban the Sale of Leaded Fuel for Use in On-Road Vehicles
The mixture known as gasoline, when used in high compression internal combustion engines, has a tendency to autoignite (detonation) causing a... Read more
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US EPA Requires Home Buyers and Renters to be Informed of Lead-Based Paint Hazards
On March 6, 1996, EPA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued the lead-based paint disclosure rule which ensures that... Read more
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Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gases is agreed on
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC), aimed at combating global warming.... Read more
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Mass Protests Mar the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 in Seattle
Protest activity activity surrounding the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999, which was to be the launch of a new millennial round of trade... Read more
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Earth Day 2000
The time is long overdue to begin constructing energy systems based on indigenous solar, wind, biofuels, and other sustainable sources. In rich... Read more
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Signing of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is an international environmental treaty that aims to eliminate or restrict the production... Read more
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Construction Begins on the Three Gorges Dam
The Three Gorges Dam (simplified Chinese: 长江三峡大坝; traditional Chinese: 長江三峽大壩; pinyin: Chángjiāng Sānxiá Dàbà) is a hydroelectric river dam that... Read more