Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability 1

1991–2000Continuing efforts by antienvironmentalmovementto repeal or weaken environmentallaws and discreditenvironmental movement.1995–2000Most efforts by RepublicandominatedCongress to weakenor do away with environmentallaws are vetoed byPresident Bill Clinton.2001–2004President George W. Bush, backed by a RepublicandominatedCongress, weakens many environmentallaws, withdraws the U.S. from participation in aglobal climate change treaty, and greatly increasesprivate energy and mineral development and timbercutting on public lands.1990s2000s1990 Twentieth annual Earth Dayobserved by 200 million people in141 nations. Clean Air Actamended to increase regulation ofair pollutants such as sulfur dioxideand nitrogen oxides and allowtrading of air pollution credits.National Environmental EducationAct authorizes funding ofenvironmental educationprograms at elementaryand secondary school level.1992 Almost 1,700of the world’s seniorscientists release awarning about theseriousness of theworld’s environmentalproblems. UNenvironmental summitat Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.International Conventionon Biological Diversity.1991 Persian Gulf War toprotect oil supplies inMiddle East. Moratoriumon mining in Antarcticafor 50 years. NationalPeople of Color summitto promote environmentaljustice.1995 Paul Cruzen,Mario Molina, andSherwood Rowlandwin Nobel Prizefor their work onozone depletion bychlorofluorocarbons(CFCs).1994 UN Conferenceon Population andDevelopment held inCairo, Egypt. CaliforniaDesert Protection Actadds to the NationalPark System andwilderness system.1993 Paul Hawkenpublishes the Ecologyof Commerce discussingrelationships betweenecology and business.2000 President BillClinton protects largeareas in national forestsfrom roads and loggingand protects variousparcels of publicland as nationalmonuments.International Treatyon Persistent OrganicPollutants (POPS)requires phaseoutof twelve harmfulchemicals.1997 Meeting of 161 nations inKyoto, Japan, to negotiate atreaty to help slow globalwarming. Evaluation shows littleprogress in meeting goals of1992 Earth Summit meeting.1996 Theo Coburn publishes Our StolenFuture warning of dangers from hormonedisruptingchemicals.2001 UN InternationalPanel on ClimateChange (IPCC) cites“new and strongerevidence that most ofthe observed warmingduring the past 50 yearsis attributable to humanactivities.”1990–2004Figure 6 Some important environmental events, 1990–2004.APPENDIX 2A7