Timeline of Environmental Science Environmental issues have surfaced

Timeline of Environmental Science

Environmental issues have surfaced throughout human history.

60, 000 years ago-today • Earliest evidence of fire to clear land in Tanzania • Deforestation continues to devastate

7, 000 years ago • Land, air and water pollution common • Rome was notorious for sewage in the streets Ancient sewer system

500 BC forward • Soil conservation practiced except in China in ancient times • Lead poisoning by Romans who prepared their wine with lead sweetened sugar (lead acetate)

Middle Ages and Renaissance 1200 -1750 • Plague devastates Europe but leads to the beginnings of a public health system. • Still deforestation, soil erosion, water pollution • Picture is woodcut of outhouse opening directly into water supply

Era of Enlightenment 1750 -1830 • Thomas Malthus predicts that as populations soar, resources will become scarce or run out entirely. • Movement to clean up waterways. • New technologies create new pollutions • Woodcut of victims of typhus

Industrial Revolution 1830 -1890 • Living conditions in urban areas horrible • Smog episodes begin killing residents of large cities like London. • Conservation of wilderness areas begins • Giant Sequoia “Mother of the Forest” tree cut down started national forest preservation

Progressive Era 1890 -1920 • Reform was the common concern. Reform of working conditions, slum housing, food adulteration, sanitation, drinking water, polluting industries and more. • Social activism, women’s clubs, Sierra Club begin • Young Teddy Roosevelt leads the way in conserving large tracts of land for “wise use”

Roaring 20’s and depression 1920 -1940 • Leaded gasoline becomes standard for vehicles despite fight against • Civilian Conservation Corps founded by FDR

World War II and the 50’s • Only the government can secure the long-term public interest. Private industry can not • Increasing C 02 buildup • Deadly smog episodes in London

The Sixties 1960 -1970 • Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring • The tragedy of the commons (as unrestricted grazing could turn a common pasture into a wasteland, unregulated industry could do the same to the planet. )

The Seventies 1970 -1980 • A decade of awakening and cleanup begins with the birth of the Environmental Protection Agency • Air pollution is cut back dramatically through use of catalytic converters on new cars • Water pollution is greatly decreased through a massive sewage treatment expansion program …

1970 -1980’s • Toxic chemicals become more troubling • Nuclear power safety is increasingly suspect after the Three Mile Island accident. • Energy crisis in oil supply leads to reversals of some restrictions on refinery and oil pollution • Greenpeace protecting whales

The Eighties 1980 -1990 • Disasters -the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster in Ukraine; and the Challenger shuttle and Exxon Valdez oil spills in the U. S. • Ozone depletion from fluorocarbons

The Nineties 1990 -2000 • Persian Gulf War creates environmental disaster with thousands of burning oil wells. • Political standoff - A Gallup poll finds 76 percent of Americans call themselves "environmentalists. "

2000 til now • Global climate change becomes a pressing priority • Coal mine disasters continue to haunt the US and China. • Toxic Waste dumping in developing nations continues to be an urgent problem. • Tsunami and earthquake almost destroys nuclear power plant in Japan

The Future