Environmental Movements in the 80's/90's
April 22nd is known to be Earth Day, but the day was created only about 50 years ago. Our society seems to be concerned about the environment more as compared to before. 
Environmental concerns started emerging in the late 80's/early 90's. A gallop poll in the U.S. taken right after the 1992 elections showed that the majority of people showed concern on voters. Furthermore, many voters stated that they would choose who they would vote for based on their environmental plans. The environment we live in wouldn't have existed without these movements and events. Here is an environmental timeline of the late 80's through the 90's.
1986 - First mandatory recycling law is passed in RI
1987 - "The Garbage Project" (University of Arizona) starts cleaning landfills, researching the content of the landfill as well as biodegration
1988 - Estimated 14,000 landfills closed in the span of 10 years as they were dangerous and harmful to nearby residents. Additionally, many old landfills were closed due to the lack of standards met
1989 - "An Agenda for Action" created by the EPA calls for integrated solid waste management (prevention and recycling)
1990 - Gallop Poll - 76% of Americans are "environmentalists"
Clean Air act enacted; this would control NOxes and SOxes emitted into the air
Estimated about 2 degrees rise in the temperature in the span of 35 years
1991 - Sweden enacts the first ever Carbon Tax in the world
Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Criteria created by EPA
Kuwait/Iraq war - massive oil spills; many kids living in those countries with asthma
UN Antarctica Treaty - prohibit mining, limits pollution, protect animal species
1992 - High concentrations of carbon monoxide found in the stratosphere by NASA researchers
UN Earth summit in Rio de Janeiro
1993 - Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Criteria effective in most states
1995 - US Bureau of Mines is closed down
1996 - Study found that lead poisoning is linked to anti-social behavior
1997 - Kyoto Protocol adopted; reduction of CO2 is enforced
1999 - globalization becomes a problem when earth hits 6 billion in population; more people are living in cities and more people are living with less than $2 a day
7 out 10 scientists agree that the earth is going through one of the biggest mass extinctions in history.
Sources:
http://www.lib.niu.edu/1990/ii900413.html
http://environmentalhistory.org/20th-century/nineties/
Interesting post, Natsumi. The modern environmental movement, although it took great steps in the 80s and 90s, primarily began during the 1960s in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1954, the Japanese fishing vessel Lucky Dragon and its 23 man crew was exposed to radioactive fallout from a hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll. In 1969, there was an ecologically catastrophic oil spill from an offshore well in Santa Barbara Channel. Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring as well as Paul R. Ehrlich's The Population Bomb added anxiety about the state of the environment. A broadening number of sympathizers were engaged by more public awareness of environmental issues, such as air pollution, water pollution, solid waste disposal, dwindling energy resources, radiation, pesticide poisoning, noise pollution, and more. However, even the modern environmentalist movement had its roots in the progressive era, and it did not only start in the 1960s. Theodore Roosevelt recognized that the laissez-faire approach of the United States government was wasteful and inefficient, and he noted that most of the natural resources were already owned by the federal government. He concluded that the best course of action was a long-term plan devised by national experts to maximize long-term economic benefits of natural resources.He became a prominent conservationist and put environmental issues high on the national agenda. He set aside more Federal land for national parks and nature preserves than all of his predecessors combined, established the United States Forest Service, signed into law the creation of five National Parks, and proclaimed 18 new US National Monuments.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/earth-days-modern-environmental-movement/
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-now/2008-09/theodore-roosevelt-and-progressive-era
Very interesting post! I think it is interesting to examine the different environmentalist movements that have taken place up to this point. I feel like all of these movements work towards building a growing consciousness in the nation with regard to our environment. In addition, I think the new technology innovations of the past decades has also affected the environmentalist movement. For example, in 2007, companies started promoting Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs for people to use in their homes in order to be more environmentally friendly. This showed how the technology advancements were pushing people to shift to a new mindset.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/12/17/environmental.decade.top.ten/index.html