1970 in the environment
| List of years in the environment |
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| (table) |
This is a list of notable events relating to the environment in 1970. They relate to environmental law, conservation, environmentalism and environmental issues.
Events
- The California Environmental Quality Act is passed into law and signed by then California Governor Ronald Reagan.
- Francis A. Schaeffer publishes Pollution and the Death of Man.[1]
- Natural Resources Defense Council is founded.
- League of Conservation Voters is founded.
January
- The United States National Environmental Policy Act becomes effective.
February
- US President Richard Nixon gave the nation's first presidential message on the environment.[2]
April
- The first Earth Day took place on April 22, organized by Gaylord Nelson, former senator of Wisconsin, and Denis Hayes, Harvard graduate student. Twenty million people participated in teach-ins in the United States.[3]
- US President Richard Nixon signed the Environmental Quality Improvement Act.[4]
- Joni Mitchell releases Big Yellow Taxi, a song inspired by her seeing parking lots in Hawaii: "They paved paradise to put up a parking lot".
October
- On October 16, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and Phil Ochs perform at a benefit concert for the Don't Make a Wave Committee, the organization that would become Greenpeace, at the Amchitka concert.
December
- The United States Environmental Protection Agency is formed.
- President Richard Nixon signed the Clean Air Act of 1970.
- Norman Borlaug, the father of the Green Revolution, wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
See also
References
- ^ Barry Hankins (3 November 2008). Francis Schaeffer and the Shaping of Evangelical America. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-8028-6389-8. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
- ^ Elkins, Chuck (October 2013). "Transcript of "Behind the Scenes at the Creation of the EPA" Video" (PDF). EPA Alumni Association. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ^ Elkins, Chuck (October 2013). "Transcript of "Behind the Scenes at the Creation of the EPA" Video" (PDF). Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ^ United States. Environmental Quality Improvement Act of 1970. Pub. L. 91–224 April 3, 1970.