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Philadelphia committee led by Benjamin Franklin attempts to regulate waste disposal and water pollution.
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Henry David Thoreau publishes Walden
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Start of American Civil War
The Civil War in the United States began in 1861, after decades of tensions between northern and southern states over slavery, states' rights, and westward expansion. -
End of American Civil War
General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate troops to the Union's Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, ending the Civil War. -
The term ecology is coined in German as Oekologie by Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel
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The term acid rain is coined by Robert Angus Smith in the book Air and Rain
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The term smog is coined by Henry Antoine Des Voeux in a London meeting to express concern over air pollution
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US Congress created the National Park Service
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Start of World War I
World War I began after the assassination of Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip on June 28, 1914. -
End of World War I
The infusion of American troops and resources into the western front finally tipped the scale in the Allies' favor. Germany signed an armistice agreement with the Allies on November 11, 1918. -
Start of World War II
World War II began in Europe on September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. -
End of World War 2
On May 8, 1945, the Allies accepted Germany's surrender, about a week after Adolf Hitler had committed suicide. Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945. -
Start of Cold War
The alliance between the United States and Britain on one side and the Soviet Union on the other deteriorated after they worried that Soviet domination in Eastern Europe might be permanent. -
Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring
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Start of Cuban Missile Crisis
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End of Cuban Missile Crisis
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The Apollo 8 picture of Earthrise
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First Earth Day – April 22. Millions of people gather in the United States for the first Earth Day. US Environmental Protection Agency established
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End of the Cold War
The Cold War came to an end when the last war of Soviet occupation ended in Afghanistan, and the Berlin Wall came down in Germany. -
Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer entered into force
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The Kyoto Protocol was negotiated in Kyoto, Japan in December. Countries that ratify this protocol commit to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide
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U.S. rejects the Kyoto Protocol
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U.S. announces it will cease participation in the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation
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U.S. announces it will rejoin the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation
