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The scientist Rachel Carson publishes her fourth book in which she questions agricultural practices, government policies, and calls for changes in the way humans see the natural world. It was a bestseller and has been identified as one of the greatest science books of all time. By 1975 every chemical named in the book was banned in the United States. Carson was strongly criticized by the chemical industry and its political allies.  ~ Example W. Cat
References:
Wikipedia
Society and Environment Portal

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Lake Erie was known as the warmest and shallowest of the Great Lakes until it was affected by pollution. This was caused by factories who dumped waste into the lake by the different cities such as, Cleveland. Waste from sewers traveled into the lake as well as pesticides and fertilizers from agricultural runoff. This results in eutrophication which is when there is a nutrient overload in lakes and oceans due to agricultural runoff and deterrents in urban runoff. This created algae blooms which covers the water surface resulting in fish and plant life to be deprived from oxygen. This killed numerous amount of fish which washed up on the shore and became a national headline “Lake Erie is Dead.”

By: Sarah Beckham
Reference: "Cleveland Historical" URL: https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/58

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1976 Residents Complain about Love Canal 

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1976 Residents Complain about Love Canal 

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Residents began to complain of the chemical smells and chemical burns from the site where Hooker Chemical dumped their hazardous waste. There were nine complaints about health issues at the Love Canal, which then lead to a soil dump to cover up liquid and drums that were exposed. With heavy rains, neighborhoods began to see the chemicals arise in their own backyards and in homes. Concerns began to be expressed from the fears of diseases/sicknesses being brought to their community. This soon will be a bigger issue when Lois Gibbs expresses her voice for her neighborhood community to become a protest leader in evacuating her community due to terrible living conditions caused by Hooker Chemical Company.

By: Sarah Beckham
Reference: https://buffalonews.com/2018/08/04/a-history-of-the-love-canal-disaster-1893-to-1998/

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Robert Bullard claimed that the companies were being environmentally racist by putting landfills and toxic waste in neighborhoods that were mostly low income and of color. His research and publishing of the book Dumping in Dixie sparked the Environmental Justice Movement. The book explained how African American and Latino neighborhoods have a higher number of waste facilities than white communities. This lead to the environmental justice movement which ensures fair treatments of everyone regardless of race, national origin, or income bracket.
Environmental justice brought the civil right and environmental
movements together.

By: Lindsey Lang
Reference: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robert-D-Bullard.jpg

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DDT was a chemical that was widely used in the United States as an insecticide. The chemical was sprayed on crops as well as directly onto people. It seems as if it was a miracle chemical because it reduced the rates of malaria which was very important to the war at the time. Rachel Carson was unsure about the effects of DDT on the environment and humans, and she expressed her concerns in her novel Silent Spring. She was able to explain the unwanted effects of the chemical which included lowering reproductive rates in birds and cancer in humans.

By: Lindsey Lang
image reference: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiurcO82Z7hAhVTo54KHU1DCwUQjhx6BAgBEAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FDDT&psig=AOvVaw0M98zLGTk_N-w7gkoxt3Ip&ust=1553651618811373

DDT being sprayed over Oregon in attempt to control budworms.

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The National Environmental Policy Act was signed on January 1st, 1970 by President Nixon. It was the first law written that creates a foundation for protecting our land and our environment. The National Environmental Policy was formed in order to prevent damages to the land and to further promote our health through the quality of our surroundings. The goal of the NEPA is to protect and restore our environment, in which its successes inspired other laws regarding the protection of the environment not only in the United States, but throughout the world.

By: Heidi Lee
References:
NEPA
Image

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Inspired by Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring," which led to many environmental movements including the creation of Earth Day. Celebrated on April 22, this holiday is a day dedicated to our beloved Earth. Without any regulations such as the Environmental Policy Act, Earth would be clouded in more toxic and pollution than it is to this day. As a result of this, Senator Gaylord Nelson declared Earth Day to raise public awareness towards our concern for the environment. This day was celebrated by both Republicans and Democrats, and would soon launch a second wave of environmentalism with new protection laws.

By: Heidi Lee
References:
Earth Day
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1994 President Clinton issues environmental justice executive order

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1994 President Clinton issues environmental justice executive order

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In 1994, President Clinton issued an executive order that addressed the health and environmental impact of the federal government’s activities on both low-income and different minority communities.  The goal of the executive order is to eliminate racial and economic bias within the government and protect all environments regardless of status.  The Office of Environmental Justice is responsible for implementing environmental justice programs that will protect and repair polluted communities.  The executive order is significant because throughout American history, toxic facilities and industries that produce massive amounts of pollutants have typically been built near low-income neighborhoods and communities of color.
By: Alex Bishop
Reference:https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-executive-order-12898-federal-actions-address-environmental-justice

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In 1973, Congress passed the Endangered Species Act which recognized the importance of our native heritage and the need to protect the plants and animals indigenous to the different ecosystems across the US.  Not only does the act provide grants for research and conservation efforts of protected species, but it also ensures that the federal government will monitor all species and habitats, whether endangered or not.  This act is important in maintaining the natural environment of the US and protecting the species that are native to the land despite the effects of human development and industry.
By: Alex Bishop
Reference: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/topic/laws-policies#endangered-species-act

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In April of 1986 there was a nuclear accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in northern Ukraine. The explosion released radiation and killed 31 people also forcing the city to evacuate and later become abandoned. Residents of Pripyat and the environment were affected the most. Surprisingly, not very many people became ill, but those who did suffered greatly. The surrounding trees were killed and later buried. We can only assume that most or all living things were killed as well. This area won't be habitable for humans for many thousands of years.
By Jo Christenson
Reference

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(Image credit: Igor Kostin/Laski Diffusion/Getty Images)

In the early morning hours of April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine (formerly part of the Soviet Union) exploded, creating what many consider the worst nuclear disaster the world has ever seen.

Even after many years of scientific research and government investigation, there are still many unanswered questions about the Chernobyl accident - especially regarding the long-term health impacts that the massive radiation leak will have on those who were exposed.
Related: 5 weird things you didn't know about Chernobyl
Where is Chernobyl?

The city of Pripyat, founded in 1970, was the nearest town to the power plant at just under 2 miles (3 km) away and housed almost 50,000 people in 1986. A smaller and older town, Chernobyl, was about 9 miles (15 km) away and home to about 12,000 residents. The remainder of the region was primarily farms and woodland.

The power plant

(Image credit: Sovfoto/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

(opens in new tab)

The Chernobyl plant used four Soviet-designed RBMK-1000 nuclear reactors - a design that's now universally recognized as inherently flawed. RBMK reactors were of a pressure tube design that used an enriched U-235 dioxide fuel to heat water, creating steam that drives the reactors' turbines and generates electricity, according to the World Nuclear Association.

What happened during the nuclear explosion?

Reactor 4 had been shut down the day before in order to perform the maintenance checks to safety systems during potential power outages, according to the Nuclear Energy Agency (opens in new tab) (NEA). While there is still some disagreement over the actual cause of the explosion, it is generally believed that the first was caused by an excess of steam and the second was influenced by . The excess steam was created by the reduction of the cooling water, which caused steam to build up in the cooling pipes - the positive-void coefficient - which caused an enormous power surge that the operators could not shut down.

(Image credit: Sergeev Kirill/Shutterstock)

The explosions occurred at 1:23 a.m. on April 26, destroying reactor 4 and initiating a booming fire, according to the NEA. Radioactive debris of fuel and reactor components rained over the area while fire spread from the building housing reactor 4 to adjacent buildings. Toxic fumes and dust were carried by the blowing wind, bringing fission products and the noble gas inventory of naturally-occurring odorless and colorless gases with it.

Radioactive fallout

The explosions killed two plant workers - the first of several workers to die within hours of the accident. For the next several days, as emergency crews tried desperately to contain the fires and radiation leaks, the death toll climbed as plant workers succumbed to acute radiation sickness.

The initial fire was stifled by about 5 a.m., but the resulting graphite-fueled fire took 10 days and 250 firefighters to extinguish, according to the NEA. However, toxic emissions continued to be pumped into the atmosphere for an additional 10 days.

Most of the radiation released from the failed nuclear reactor was from fission products -131, -134 and cesium-137. Iodine-131 has a relatively short half-life of eight days, according to UNSCEAR, but it is rapidly ingested through the air and tends to localize in the thyroid gland. Cesium isotopes have longer half-lives (cesium-137 has a half-life of 30 years) and are a concern for years after their release into the environment.

Evacuations of Pripyat commenced on April 27 - about 36 hours after the accident had occurred. By that time, many residents were already complaining about vomiting, headaches and other signs of radiation sickness. Officials closed off an 18-mile (30 km) area around the plant by May 14, evacuating another 116,000 residents. Within the next few years, 220,000 more residents were advised to move to less contaminated areas, according to the World Nuclear Association.

(Image credit: Anton Petrus/Getty Images)

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Health effects

(Image credit: Dreamstime)

Within three months of the Chernobyl accident, a total of 31 people died from radiation exposure or other direct effects of the disaster, according to the NRC. Between 1991 and 2015, as many as 20,000 cases of thyroid cancer cases were diagnosed in patients who were under the age of 18 in 1986, according to a 2018 (opens in new tab) report. While there may still be additional cases of cancer that emergency workers, evacuees and residents may experience throughout their lifetimes, the known overall rate of cancer deaths and other health effects directly related to Chernobyl's radiation leak is lower than was initially feared. "The majority of the five million residents living in contaminated areas ... received very small radiation doses comparable to natural background levels (0.1 rem per year)," according to an NRC report. "Today, the available evidence does not strongly connect the accident to radiation-induced increases of or solid cancer, other than thyroid cancer."

Environmental impacts

The plant, the ghost towns of Pripyat and Chernobyl, and the surrounding land make up a 1,000-square-mile (2600 square kilometers) "exclusion zone," which is restricted to nearly everyone except for scientists and government officials.

Despite the dangers, several people returned to their homes shortly after the disaster, with some sharing their stories with news sources such as the (opens in new tab), (opens in new tab) and The Guardian (opens in new tab). And in 2011, Ukraine opened up the area to tourists wanting to see the after-effects of the disaster firsthand.

Chernobyl today
Related: Infographic: Chernobyl nuclear disaster 25 years later
Today, the region, including within the exclusion zone, is filled with a variety of wildlife that have thrived without interference from humans, according to National Geographic (opens in new tab). Thriving populations of , , , , eagles, , , and other animals have been documented in the dense woodlands that now surround the silent power plant. Nonetheless, a handful of radiation effects, such as stunted trees growing in the zone of highest radiation and animals with high levels of cesium-137 in their bodies, are known to occur.

The area has recovered to some extent, but is far from returning to normal. But in the areas just outside the exclusion zone, people are beginning to . Tourists continue to visit the site, with visitation rates jumping 30% to 40% thanks to a 2019 HBO series based on the disaster. And the catastrophe that occurred at Chernobyl resulted in a few significant changes for the nuclear industry: concern about reactor safety increased in eastern Europe as well as around the world; the remaining RBMK reactors were modified to reduce the risk in another disaster; and many international programs including the International Atomic Energy Agency (opens in new tab) (IAEA) and the World Association of Nuclear Operators (opens in new tab) (WANO) were founded as a direct result of Chernobyl, according to the World Nuclear Association. And around the globe, experts have continued researching ways to prevent future nuclear disasters.

Russian invasion

(Image credit: Hennadii Minchenko/ Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

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On Feb. 24, 2022, during a full invasion of Ukraine ordered by Russian president Vladimir Putin, Russian troops captured the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, taking its staff hostage.

Just a day later (Feb. 25), after heavy fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces, increased radiation levels were detected at the power plant, according to Ukrainian officials and online data (opens in new tab) from Chernobyl exclusion zone's automated radiation-monitoring system. Gamma radiation, a high-energy type of electromagnetic radiation, increased 20 times above typical levels at multiple inspection points. This radiation spike was likely due to radioactive dust that was thrown into the air due to nearby disturbances from war equipment and fighting.

"If it's a resuspension of dust, this is generally stuff that was not that mobile, or it would have blown away," Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, previously told Live Science. "So it's probably heavier particles of soil that don't disperse very far."

Even with this radiation spike however, "the dose rates they're finding are not that much greater than the usual dose rates in that area, which, admittedly, are probably about a hundred times the background dose of anywhere else in the world," Lyman said. "But even so, if [the troops] don't spend that much time in the area, it's not going to have a significant impact on their health compared to the threat of dying in war."

On March 9, Ukraine's state energy company announced (opens in new tab) that Chernobyl's nuclear power plant and all the facilities in the exclusion zone had been completely disconnected and were without electricity. This led Ukrainian officials to express their concern (opens in new tab) that the spent nuclear material kept in the plant's cooling pools could heat up and evaporate into its immediate surroundings. But nuclear energy experts cautioned that the plant's roughly 20,000 spent nuclear fuel units, which are 22 years old, were fairly cold and that an event of this kind would be highly unlikely.

Sometime during the Russian occupation, looters stole radioactive material and isotopes from a radiation monitoring laboratory near the defunct nuclear power plant, according to the Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants (ISPNPP). As it contains no plutonium or uranium, the stolen material cannot be used to make nuclear weapons, but it could possibly make a dirty bomb, although this risk is also low, Live Science previously reported.

Additional resources

Read more about how water cools and moderates nuclear reactors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (opens in new tab). Or find the latest news about the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on the power plant's website (opens in new tab). To learn about longstanding health effects from the Chernobyl disaster, go to the Canadian Safety Nuclear Commission (opens in new tab).

Bibliography

BBC. "The people who refused to leave Chernobyl." April 26, 2016.

Live Science. "Is It Safe to Visit Chernobyl?" June 7, 2019.

Live Science. "Disaster Tourists Are Flocking to Chernobyl, Thanks to HBO Series." June 5, 2019.
This article was updated on June 20, 2019 by Live Science Contributor Rachel Ross.
Live Science. "Who Will Prevent the Next Chernobyl? (Op-Ed)" April 25, 2016.

Live Science. "Russian troops have taken over Chernobyl power plant, Ukrainian official says." Feb. 24, 2022.

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Chernobyl: Facts About the Nuclear Disaster

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(Image credit: Igor Kostin/Laski Diffusion/Getty Images) In the early morning hours of April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine (formerly part of the Soviet Union) exploded, creating what many consider the worst nuclear disaster the world has ever seen.

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1966 First Legislation Regarding Endangered Species passes

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1966 First Legislation Regarding Endangered Species passes

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While there had been many different efforts to protect our biodiversity, it wasn't until 1966 that things started to improve. The Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 which was the first federal endangered species legislation. This gives authority to the Secretary of the Interior to list native species of fish and wildlife as endangered. It also allows them to acquire endangered species habitats for inclusion in the National Wildlife Refuge System.

By Jo Chirstenson
Reference:

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Web site of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

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After years of residents in and around Love Canal complaining about chemical smells and chemical burns around an old site where Hooker Chemical company dumped and covered up their hazardous waste, enough is enough. President Jimmy Carter declared Love Canal a national emergency, ordering the relocation of the over 700 families who had been exposed to toxic waste.
By: Hannah Karl
Reference: http://environmentalhistory.org/20th-century/eighties/

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People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals is founded by Ingrid Newkirk, former animal control chief in D.C., and by Alex Pacheco, former Fund for Animals volunteer and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society crew member. PETA serves as the U.S. dominant animal rights group that now has more than 6.5 million members and supporters. PETA focuses on the treatment of animals in laboratories, the food industry, in clothing trade, and in the entertainment industry. The start of this organization has changed the way people and industries see the lives of animals all across the globe.
By: Hannah Karl
Reference: http://environmentalhistory.org/20th-century/eighties/
https://www.peta.org/about-peta/

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In 1972, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 was expanded and reorganized. It was then renamed the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act made it so that it was illegal to release any kind of pollutant into traversable waters from point sources like pipes without a permit. It also put pollution control programs in place that created better wastewater standards for the industry.

By: Zoe Zibolsky
Sources:
Clean Water Act
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“The Quiet Crisis” was a book written by the Secretary of the Interior at the time, Stewart Udall. Udall’s book was a call to action to warn people of the environmental crisis taking place. His book advised the importance of conservation and warned against pollution, overuse of resources, and shortage of open space. His book also addressed people’s attitudes on conservation and explained why it was important to care about. Udall and his book helped jumpstart environmental activism in the United States and Udall was eventually named a pioneer of environmental legislation.
By: Catherine Kinkel
References: http://60snow.blogspot.com/2010/04/quiet-crisis.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart_Udall

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1988 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Established 

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1988 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Established 

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In 1988 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was created. The IPCC was created by The World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environmental Program in order to provide scientific research and information about clmiate change. IPCC’s website states it was created for the pupose of, “ comprehensive review and recommendations with respect to the state of knowledge of the science of climate change; the social and economic impact of climate change, and potential response strategies and elements for inclusion in a possible future international convention on climate.” The panel won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for their work.

By: Catherine Kinkel
References: https://www.ipcc.ch/about/history/
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/earth-days-modern-environmental-movement/

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1962 'Our Synthetic Environment' Published.

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1962 'Our Synthetic Environment' Published.

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'Our Synthetic Environment' is a book that was written by Murray Bookchin. This book was written before 'Silent Sprig' was published by Rachel Carson. The two books were some of the first to adopt an ecological and environmentalist worldview. In this book, Bookchin talks about the dangers of the use of pesticides as well as the chemicals used in food production.
By: Robert Figley
References: Goodreads

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The Clean Air Act in 1970 shifted the national effort to control air pollution. It meant the government was now regulating the atmosphere to ensure general safety for the environment and the general public. While the 1970's saw a lot of environmental progress, this was perhaps one of the more essential acts considering the amount of air pollution being emitted by major industrial companies. It helped coral major industry and their industrial systems that were emitting harmful toxins into the atmosphere. It created standards that were enforced nationwide and effected the entire country. This was the beginning of an important piece of legislation that is still in effect today.

- Devyn Dye

Reference:   https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/evolution-clean-air-act

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1977 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act

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1977 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act

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This act was established in 1977 and created a program that regulated surface mining activities and reclaimed lands that had been coal-mined. It came to fruition under the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement, an administration housed within the Department of the Interior. This act established a law that requires mine operators to minimize both disturbances and negative effects on wildlife from mining operations.

By: Zoe Zibolsky
Sources:
Federal Resource Laws of Interest
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Clean Air Act Amendments 1990 - evolution of environmental policy

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Clean Air Act Amendments 1990 - evolution of environmental policy

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This amendment of the 1970 Clean Air Act was significant because it was just not the creation of an environmental policy, but the evolution of environmental policy. It signifies the progressions of science and legislation in tandem. It built upon what the country had already established and combined it with emerging science in order to in crease the efficiency and strength of legislation that would benefit the environment and general public. It was amended by the governing body of the U.S. It increased the federal regulation further than it initially did, and set the standards higher. Anytime the government obtains more control, it is a significant move for the government and industry alike. It was important because it meant environmental regulation would become more strict, and more widely spread with new toxins, and pollution being identified.

-Devyn Dye

Reference:  https://environmentallaw.uslegal.com/federal-laws/clean-air-act/

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This act was passed by Congress and signed into law that same year by President George H.W. Bush. This act was put into place following the second largest oil spill in US history the year before. In  1989 the oil tanker Exxon Valdez hit a reef in Prince William Sound Alaska spilling 11 million gallons of crude oil. At the time it was the largest oil spill in US history. The Deepwater horizon spill in 2010 is the largest spill in history now. The Oil Pollution Act increased penalties for companies responsible for oil spills and made it mandatory for all tankers in the US to have a double hull. The Exxon Valdez was a single hull tanker that was sailing from Valdez, AK to Long Beach, CA.

By: Robert Figley
Resource: History.com

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1992: Creation of the EPA Office of Environmental Equity

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1992: Creation of the EPA Office of Environmental Equity

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The Office of Environmental Equity at the Environmental Protection Agency was formed in 1992. The office was created based on the findings and recommendations of the EPA Environmental Equity Workgroup, which was formed in July 1990 and found that areas of low-income and/or minority populations were at a disproportionately greater environmental risk than the general population. The Office of Environmental Equity was created to address these issues and enforce fair treatment of all people under environmental laws and policies as well as facilitate community involvement in decision making. In 1994, the name of the office was changed to the Office of Environmental Justice.

Sources: EPA: Environmental Justice and EPA: Learn About Environmental Justice

Image: Sierra Club

By: Sarah Heiman

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In December 1980, Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CRCLA). More commonly known as Superfund, this act gave the federal government greater authority over abandoned hazardous waste sites. The goal of this act is to identify hazardous waste sites and clean them up on a priority basis determined by how severe each case is. It helps the federal government hold those people or organizations responsible for the waste accountable for their actions. It also created a tax imposed on the industries that create toxic waste. The money from this tax goes towards cleaning up hazardous waste sites that have no responsible party to do so themselves.
Below is a map of Superfund sites in the U.S.

Source: EPA Superfund CERCLA Overview

Image: EPA Superfund National Priorities List Map

By: Sarah Heiman

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2019-03-29 18_12_51-Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) Where You Live Map

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The 1970's Clean Air Act was put into place because the need for change was noticed by those concerned about the pollution going into our air. The Clean Air Act of 1977 is a Federal Law that regulated air emissions from things such as industrial companies or coal mines, specifically, "this law authorizes EPA to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect public health and public welfare and to regulate emissions of hazardous air pollutants" (EPA). By establishing this rule, standards for all emissions were set and therefore has created a trend that has effected our whole country and still continues today.

By: Nicholas Ernenwein

Source:

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Many people know that the origination of the Clean Air Act occurred in the year 1977. What many people are unaware of however, is the resurfacing of this act for revision during the 1990s. The revisions made over the original Clean Air Act specifically pertained to section 112, and was aimed at targeting "Major Sources" that has the ability of producing 10 tons of hazardous material or more per year. Specifically this act states, "The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments revised Section 112 to first require issuance of technology-based standards for major sources and certain area sources" (EPA). Overall, this was just another revision of an act that was put in place to help save our planet for the long run and we are still continuing to see the benefits today.

By: Nicholas Ernenwein

Source:

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Some environmentalists believe the forward progress that started with Earth Day came to a halt with Ronald Reagan's election in 1981. When Reagan took office, many of his first initiatives were to override much of the Carter environmental agenda. Criticism from many EPA officials regarding his policy changes - and in some cases lack of policy changes - led to their mass resignation in 1983. Criticism continued throughout his presidency as he dismissed multiple acid rain proposals, calling them "burdensome to industries" despite the known effects of acid rain on fish and plant life. Reagan was pro-development and wanted to decrease government regulation in many aspects of American life, including where environmental issues and public land were concerned. He once said, "If you've seen one tree, you've seen them all."

By: Kailie Dugger

Sources:
http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Ronald_Reagan_Environment.htm

http://docuseek2.com.ezproxy3.library.arizona.edu/cart/product/337

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Mid to Late 1970's: First Flare Up of the Sagebrush Rebellion

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Mid to Late 1970's: First Flare Up of the Sagebrush Rebellion

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The first of three distinct flare ups of the Sagebrush Rebellion began in the mid to late 1970's. It was initiated by farmers, ranchers, and leaders in natural resource extracting industries such as timber and mining. Tension grew after the Federal Land Policy Management Act was passed in 1976. The act decreased extraction from public lands and increased the preservation of them. The rebels believed the government controlled too much land in the western states, making the area inaccessible for development. While there were various violent threats, the rebels mostly resorted to spreading awareness and introducing bills into the Senate that would allow western states to take over millions of acres of public land. The first flare up of the rebellion was quelled with the election of Ronald Reagan and his pro-development ideals.

By: Kailie Dugger

Source:
https://www.hcn.org/articles/a-look-back-at-the-first-sagebrush-rebellion

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First GMO food is sold on grocery store shelves 

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First GMO food is sold on grocery store shelves 

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In 1994, The US Food and Drug Administration approved Flavr Savr tomato for sale on grocery store shelves. These tomatoes had delayed-ripening characteristics which gave the tomatoes longer shelf life than standard tomatoes. These particular tomatoes failed to get a high profit, but they paved the way for GMO foods to be sold in stores.

Source: http://calag.ucanr.edu/Archive/?article=ca.v054n04p6

Marquies White

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Norman Borlaug wins the Nobel Peace Prize

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Norman Borlaug wins the Nobel Peace Prize

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Norman Borlaug won a Nobel Peace Prize for his massive influence around the world when it comes to food production. Borlaug practically started the "green revolution" and his work in crossbreeding wheat and other crops lead to millions and millions being fed around the world. Some say that without Borlaug's work, it would be nearly impossible for the world to sustain the population that it does.

Marquies White

Source: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1970/borlaug/biographical/

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'Never Cry Wolf' is a book that was written in the 1960's that investigated the declining caribou population in Canada. At the time of their decline it was often blamed on wolves. Although this book does a good job of proving otherwise. This book highlights the truth behind wolves hunting caribou, and it was revealed that the wolves only hunted old and sick caribou. This was actually a good thing for the caribou population because it allowed the healthier caribou to breed, increasing the speed of the herds migration.
By: Sierra Samuelson
Reference
https://lithub.com/10-trailblazing-environmental-books-for-earth-day/

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During the 1970's and 1980's preservation, protection, and conservation were big issues of the time and a lot of emphasis was put on the well being of our environment. A time during which the government put in place a lot of regulation to ensure the protection of America's natural resources. So much focus was put into this protection that this is where when the EPA was first born as an even larger effort to ensure America's protection of their natural resources.
https://thewoottonpost.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/environmental-issues-of-the-70s-and-80s-by-max-seigel-8/

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On February 8, 1965 President Lyndon Johnson gave a message to congress warning of the consequences of carbon dioxide buildup in the atmosphere. He was advised by the US President's Science Advisory Committee, who stated that such a buildup could induce "marked changes in climate, not controllable through local or even national efforts." Although it obviously did not help institute preventative measures, it did stir attention and cause the addition of climate experts to the advisory panel. 55 years ago scientists were aware of the potential disaster that humans might manifest, and indeed did manifest, and still deny on great scale, despite the overabundance of fact and the foresight of prior generations of scientists.

By: Sebastian McCallum
Reference: https://physicstoday.scitation.org/do/10.1063/PT.5.8153/full/

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In 1972 Congress successfully passed the Clean Water Act which allowed for pollution regulation and control, water quality standards, and sewage treatment. President Richard Nixon vetoed this bill due to its 24 billion dollar price tag, though he was overridden by Congress. Following this, Nixon impounded half the funds so that they could not be spent - but this was ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court, and finally the Clean Water Act was able to effectively clean and regulate water for the safety of Americans.

By: Sebastian McCallum
Reference: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nixons-clean-water-act-im_b_1372740

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In 1983 the United Nation’s World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) tasked an international group with developing a report focusing on strategies to promote social and economic growth while protecting the natural environment from such impacts as degradation and exploitation. The result of that effort was the 1987 report titled Our Common Future, commonly referred to as the Brundtland Report. This report is considered a “milestone in triggering international awareness and discourse on the importance of global sustainable development” (Environment & Society Portal n.d.). What is the perhaps the most common definition of sustainability as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”, is directly from the Brundtland Report. The Report is especially noteworthy in that it established a foundation for future commissions and planning frameworks to continue tackling the important issues of sustainable development. As the International Institute for Sustainable Development acknowledges, “the Brundtland Commission scored a historic hit by setting out a positive, upbeat narrative for the planet’s future. Thirty years later, the message resonates still with a freshness few would have expected at the time of its formulation” (Halle 2017).
By: Sandi J. Garrick
Sources:
Environment & Society Portal. n.d. The "Brundtland Report". http://www.environmentandsociety.org/tools/keywords/brundtland-report.
Halle, Mark. 2017. "The message of the Brundtland Commission continues to resonate, thirty years on." International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/blog/message-brundtland-commission-continues-resonate-thirty-years.