Timeline: Environmental events
From Environmental Technology
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*'''1948''' - 600 deaths in London in a "killer fog." | *'''1948''' - 600 deaths in London in a "killer fog." | ||
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| + | *'''1956''' - Another killer smog in London; 1,000 die. | ||
*'''1960''' - First Clean Water Act passes US Congress. | *'''1960''' - First Clean Water Act passes US Congress. | ||
Revision as of 19:37, 23 January 2006
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This article covers the events concerning the environment. These include events like laws, environmentalists, publications, organizations, etc.
Early events
- 1306 - Edward I forbids coal burning in London when Parliament is in session. Like many attempts to regulate coal burning, it has little effect.
- 1607 - Establishment of the first English colony at Jamestown. (now Virginia)
- 1690s- Paris becomes first European city with extensive sewer system. See Frederique Krupa's Paris: Urban Sanitation Before the 20th Century.
18th Century
- 1700's - Many early American settlers had a frontier attitude, which is a desire to exploit the resources ofFailed to parse (Can't write to or create math temp directory): Insert formula here
North America as quickly as possible.
- 1709- First manufactoring of iron is performed when Abraham Darby of Coalbrookdale, England uses coal instead of wood.
- 1723- Lead in alcohol stills causes serious stomach pains, a commission of inquiry learns.
- 1750 - Typhus epidemic sweeps through London, killing thousands including the Lord Mayor. An inquiry traces one possible origin to Newgate Prison, which was "in a very filthy condition and had long been so."
- 1760 - First experiments on use of coal-gas for lighting by coal mine owner George Dixon in Newcastle, England.
- 1762 --1769 -- Philadelphia committee led by Benjamin Franklin attempts to regulate waste disposal and water pollution
- 1792 - William Murdock first uses coal gas to light a small room in Redruth, Cornwall; He improved the gas by passing it through water. This experiment is usually noted as the beginning of the manufactured gas industry, which created vast pools of toxic coal tar in thousands of European and American towns and cities. Although the industry took off in the 1830s, its environmental legacy is only beginning to be understood.
19th Century
- 1800 - Beginnings of first modern municipal sewers in London, but water supply is still frequently contaminated.
- 1803 -- Louisiana Purchase finalized April 30. France sold 828,000 square miles stretching from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Idaho.
- 1804 - Lewis and Clark expedition begins the journey up the Missouri River to explore the geography.
- 1832-Arkansas Hot Springs established as a national reservation, setting a precedent for Yellowstone and eventually, a national park system.
- 1832-George Catlin, proposes the idea of national parks encomassing major areas in which Indians and wild country could both be preserved.
- 1845-Beginning of the Irish Famine
- 1860 - Alabama doctor Nicholas T. Sorsby writes Horizontal Plowing and hillside Ditching, the first book devoted to erosion control through improved cultivation methods.
- 1891-General Revision Act passed
- 1891- Forest Reserve Act passes Congress. Over 17.5 million acres set aside by 1893.
- 1893- Illinois is the first state to pass a law limiting the workday for women to 8 hours.
20th Century
- 1900 - May 25 -- Lacey Act regulates interstate traffic in wild birds in order to stop importation of birds where they have become endangered.
- 1940 - US Congress passes Bald Eagle Preservation Act.
- 1948 - 600 deaths in London in a "killer fog."
- 1956 - Another killer smog in London; 1,000 die.
- 1960 - First Clean Water Act passes US Congress.
- 1961 - World Wildlife Fund founded.
- 1965 - Congress passes Water Quality Act setting standards for states.
- 1967 - The Torry Canyon oil tanker runs aground and spills 117,000 tons of oil into North Sea near Cornwall, and United Kingdom
- 1968 - Paul Ehrlich publishes The Population Bomb, which describes the threats of the rapidly growing human population.
- 1970 - Dec. 29 -- Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) bill signed into law.
- 1970 - Earth Day is founded by Denis Hays, and Gaylord Nelson
- 1990 - Congress amends the Clean Air Act to require further reductions in HC,CO,NOx, and particulate emissions.
- 1990 - Pollution Prevention Act passed
21st Century
- 2000- European Union bans leaded gasoline as a public health hazard.
- 2000- November -- World Dam Commission, an independent organization with a variety of stakeholders, reports on alternatives to massive hydroelectric dam projects.
- 2001-National Science Foundation report on Global warming supports previous warnings by scientists
- 2001-December 12 -- US National Research Council suggests that climate change may arrive very quickly, wreaking sudden and catastrophic damage on people, property, and natural ecosystems. The report was titled, "Abrupt Climate Change: Inevitable Surprises."
