Environmental Law History Timeline Activity
Estimated Time:
One hour
Grade Level:
Secondary, but adaptable for other levels
Overview:
Students will create a timeline of environmental law history from a larger list of
environmental history events. Students can not simply put all of the events on the timeline, but
must chose events that they deem relevant and significant to the conditions provided. This
teaches students to:




Prioritize historical facts and events in order to develop the “discerning memory” needed
for critical thinking and judgments;
Analyze the historical significance of events; and how historical events impact present
circumstances;
Recognize the roles of popular culture, federal, state, and local governments; and how
such roles and relationships demonstrate change and continuity over time; and
Appreciate and articulate the importance of the Rule of Law for protecting the
environment.1
Standards: Students will develop the following Historical Thinking Skills:2
 Chronological Thinking
 Historical analysis and interpretation
 Historical issues-analysis and decision-making
Materials and Preparation:
 Discussion of environmental law, environmentalism, environmental movement,
conservation, contemporary issues, or other appropriate context according to your
teaching standards and curriculum
 One single-sided copy of the timeline events listing for each student
 A stapled packet of: one copy of the procedure sheet and one double-sided copy of the
timeline events listing for each student
 Scissors for each small group
 Large rectangular sheets of paper for each small group (i.e. butcher paper, 11 x 17”
construction paper)
 Glue sticks or tape for each small group
 Markers for each small group
 Space to hang, or otherwise display, the finished timelines around your classroom or in
hallway
This timeline activity is adapted from a similar timeline activity created by Elizabeth Scarbrough, teacher, Austin
Elementary School, Atlanta, Georgia.
1
The historical thinking skills outlined in the four bulleted points are adapted from History’s Habits of the Mind™,
from the National Council for History Education, Inc.
2
National Center for History in the Schools, University of California Los Angeles, National Standards for United
States History, 1996.
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Environmental Law History Timeline Activity
Activity Procedure
Part I: Introduction
1. Distribute the single-sided copy of the timeline events sheet to all students.
2. Ask students to glance through the timeline events and answer any questions they might
have. Point out important events that you’ve studied already, or other events you think
are important.
Part II: Assignment
3. Divide the students into small groups according to your class size.
4. Distribute the packets to all students, ask them to read it, and go over any questions they
have. Check for understanding to make sure they understand the assignment: cut event
strips, select timeline events, and assemble on the paper as a timeline. Ask groups to
begin discussing possible events from the list that they would like to put on their
timelines.
5. Give each group a large rectangular sheet of paper, several scissors, and several glue
sticks or rolls of tape.
6. Facilitate the timeline creation process as needed. Allow students 20-30 minutes to
complete the activity.
Part III: Debriefing
7. When groups are finished, ask them to hang their timelines around the room for viewing.
8. If time allows, ask each group to present their timeline to the class. Why did they choose
the events that they did? Why are they important? Limit time to keep things short.
9. Debrief with discussion questions or homework assignment.
Possible Discussion Questions
 What events are on your timeline? Why? What events did you leave off of your
timeline? Why?
 Was it difficult to choose one event over another for your timeline exhibit?
 Look around at your classmates’ timelines. Are there events that everyone chose to put
on their timelines? Why do you think this is? Are there events that everyone chose to
leave off of their timelines? Why do you think this is? What does this say about the
historical significance of the event?
 Are there events that were left off of the timelines that you would have liked to see
included?
 How would your timeline look different if you lived in Alaska?
 How does your timeline reflect all of the environmental laws and Supreme Court
decisions in American history?
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© 2008
Environmental Law History Timeline Activity
National Park
Service established
Environmental Law History Timeline Activity
1916
You are a museum curator, and have to create an exhibit for your community about the
history of environmental law in the U.S. The American Bar Association has been
working with your boss to assemble some very important laws, cases, and events related
to environmental law to include on the timeline. Unfortunately, your museum can not
afford to host an exhibit highlighting everything on your boss’ list. Your job as curator is
to select the most important laws, cases, and events from the list, in order to best educate
your museum visitors about environmental law and its impact on your community. What
will you include? What you will leave out? Why?
Directions
1. Review the list of possible timeline exhibit events.
2. Select 25 items from the list to include on your exhibit timeline. As you create your exhibit,
you’ll want to look for the most important events, historically significant events, and the
most relevant events for your community. You want your exhibit viewers to be welleducated about the history of environmental law and environmentalism in their community
and throughout American history.
3. Use the large sheet of paper to create a timeline. Attach the events to the paper on the
timeline, in chronological order.
4. Once your timeline is assembled, go the copy of timeline events stapled to this sheet, and
mark all of the events that you used on your timeline so you have a record of them for later.
5. Share your final timeline exhibit with your classmates. Explain why you chose the events
that you did.
Homework Assignment
Using the list of possible timeline events, and the events that you marked as used on your timeline,
write 1-2 sentences for each event describing why it is important enough to be part of your exhibit.
In doing so, you should answer one of the following questions:
 Why should we know about the event?
 How does the event impact you today?
 Why is it important for your community members viewing your exhibit to learn about the
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event?
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Environmental Law History Timeline Activity
Environmental Law Possible Timeline Events
Year
1681
1872
1900
1900
1905
1906
1907
1913
1916
1921
1926
Event
Pennsylvania colony governor William Penn ordered colonists to conserve one tree for every five cut
down.
Congress passed the Yellowstone Act, making Yellowstone the first national park "dedicated and set
apart as a public park or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people" and "for the
preservation, from injury or spoilation, of all timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or wonders.
. . and their retention in their natural condition."
The Lacey Act prohibited the transport of illegally obtained wildlife across state lines, and outlawed
hunting in Yellowstone National Park.
Missouri v. Illinois and the Sanitary District of Chicago:
Missouri filed suit against Illinois to stop polluting the Mississippi River with waste from the city of
Chicago. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Illinois, thereby allowing the City of Chicago to
continue draining city sewers into neighboring rivers. The Court issued this concern: “It is a question
of the first magnitude whether the destiny of the great rivers is to be the sewers of the cities along their
banks or to be protecting against everything which threatens their purity. To decide the whole matter
at one blow by an irrevocable fiat would be at least premature.”
In his annual message to Congress, President Roosevelt suggested, “provisions should be made for
preservation of the bison,” calling it a “real misfortune” should the species become extinct. The
American bison population, once 70 million, had dwindled to fewer than 300.
Congress passed the Burton Act, which preserved Niagara Falls from hydroelectric power facilities.
Georgia v. Tennessee Copper Company and Ducktown Sulphur:
Georgia filed suit against the Tennessee Copper Company and Ducktown Sulphur because fumes
from the companies were coming across the state border and polluting communities, killing forests,
and making Georgians ill. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Georgia, that the Tennessee
Copper Company must regulate fumes that were traveling across state lines. Chief Justice Holmes
opined, “It is a fair and reasonable demand on the part of a sovereign that the air over its territory
should not be polluted on a great scale by sulphurous acid gas, that the forests on its mountains should
not be further destroyed or threatened by the act of persons beyond its control, that the crops and
orchards on its hills should not be endangered.”
After a seven year debate between environmentalists and Californians seeking water rights, Congress
passed the Raker Act, authorizing the flooding of Hetch Hetchy Valley and the building of
O’Shaughnessy Dam, in Yosemite National Park.
Congress established the National Park Service. Today there are approximately 400 national parks
across America, comprising approximately 4% of the entire U.S., or 84.6 billion acres of preserved
land.
New York v. New Jersey and Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners:
New York sued New Jersey commissioners to stop dumping sewage in the New York harbor. The
U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of New Jersey, and the dumping continued.
Salt Lake City was the first U.S. city to conduct a large scale survey of air pollution.
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Environmental Law History Timeline Activity
1933
1935
1937
1940
1947
1954
1959
1962
1963
1964
1965
1965
1968
1968
1968
As part of his New Deal plan during the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt asked
Congress to pass the Emergency Conservation Work Act. Under the Act, thousands of unemployed
young men were recruited into a “peacetime army” called the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC),
also known as “Roosevelt’s tree army.” Their job was to protect against erosion and the destruction of
natural resources. CCC camps existed in every state.
Congress passed the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act in an effort to control Dust Bowl
storms, erosion, land use and conservation. Over 100,000,000 acres of U.S. prairie land were affected
by the Dust Bowl. The catastrophe inspired the largest migration of Americans in U.S. history, as 2.5
million Dust Bowl refugees moved away from the prairie.
The first ethanol plant opened in Atchison, KS. The biofuel brand, Agrol, was sold throughout the
Midwest with the slogan, “Try a tankful—you’ll be thankful.”
Congress passed the Bald Eagle Preservation Act to prevent the extinction of the national symbol.
The bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list in 2007.
President Truman established Everglades National Park. Just prior to the park’s designation, Marjorie
Stoneman Douglas published The Everglades: River of Grass.
Heavy smog conditions forced city officials to close schools in Los Angeles for most of the month of
October.
The Antarctic Treaty protected Antarctica from the dumping of nuclear waste. To date, 46 countries,
including the United States and the former Soviet Union have signed the treaty.
Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, which warned about the dangers of pesticides, especially
DDT, to water supplies and wildlife. The federal government outlawed the use of pesticides like DDT
several years later.
Congress passed the first Clean Air Act, which regulated air pollution and emissions.
Congress passed the Wilderness Act, establishing the National Wilderness Preservation System to
“secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource
of wilderness.” By 2001, there were 90 million acres of preserved wilderness in the U.S.
President Johnson signed the Water Quality Act to strengthen federal water pollution laws and outline
water quality guidelines for states/
Sierra Club v. Morton:
The Sierra Club sued Morton to stop the building of Mineral King near Sequoia National Park.
Questions arose over Sierra Club’s legal standing—they personally were not impacted by the building
of Mineral King, so did they have the right to file suit? The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Sierra
Club could file suit only if any one of its individual members were impacted by the building of
Mineral King. Thus, the standing requirement that a third party with no direct interest in a case may
file suit on behalf of members with direct interests was established. Justice Williams famously
dissented, arguing that environmental issues, because the environment impacted everyone, were not
subject to legal standing rules.
NASA released the “Blue Marble” photo of earth from space, giving Americans a first ‘outside’ look
at their planet. The photo helped raise awareness of environmental issues.
The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act passed by Congress and President Johnson to protect waterways from
pollution, commercialization, and development.
Colorado River Bill ended a decades-long dispute in the American West by authorizing the
construction of the Central Arizona water diversion project, allowing the seven states of the Colorado
River Basin to draw from the river’s annual flow.
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© 2008
Environmental Law History Timeline Activity
1969
1969
1970
1970
1970
1971
1973
1974
1977
1980
1980
1987
1987
1988
Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River ignited, as the chemicals and pollution floating on top of the water
caught fire. Images of the fire, along with a Time magazine article accusing the river of “oozing rather
than flowing” sparked nationwide attention to pollution.
The National Environmental Policy Act was one of the first laws to establish the broad national
framework for protecting the environment. The Act demanded that all braches of government give
proper consideration to the environment prior to building airports, buildings, military complexes,
highways, parks, and other activities.
The first Earth Day was celebrated by 20 million people across the country. Earth Day was first
organized by Gaylord Nelson, a former Wisconsin senator, and Denis Hayes, a Harvard graduate
student. Today, Earth Day is celebrated annually around the world.
The Environmental Protection Agency was established to “create and maintain conditions under
which man and nature can exist in productive harmony.”
General Motors president Edward Cole promised Americans “pollution free” cars by 1980.
The Ad Council and Keep America Beautiful first aired the “Crying Indian” commercial on
nationwide television, inspiring popular interest in the environment.
Congress passed the Endangered Species Act to protect what are now known as Endangered Species
from possible extinction.
Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act to be administered by the EPA, protecting Americans
from contaminated drinking water. The EPA still regulates public drinking water as a result of the act.
Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill et al.:
The federal government, via the TVA, spent $80 million to begin construction of Tellico Dam in the
Tennessee Valley. Hill, a scientist, held up construction on the basis that construction of the dam
would harm the snail darter, and petitioned that the snail darter be added to the Endangered Species
list. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Hill, upholding the legitimacy of the Endangered
Species list, in spite of the public funds poured into the dam project. Chief Justice Warren Burger
wrote in his opinion, “It is clear that Congress intended to halt and reverse the trend toward species
extinction whatever the cost.”
Congress passed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, designating over 100 million
acres of parks, wildlife refuges, and wilderness areas throughout the state.
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund) was
established to provide funds for cleaning of uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites, along
with accidents, spills, and other emergency releases of pollutants or contaminants into the
environment. The Act also gave the EPA power to prosecute polluters.
Long Island garbage barge, Mobro 4000, began a 6,000 mile journey up and down the East Coast,
looking for a dumping place. The barge became a popular icon representing the mounting waste crisis
in America, but in reality, the barge was simply a victim of circumstance, caught up in legal red tape
preventing any city from allowing it to dock.
The Montreal Protocol, an international treaty, was first signed to eliminate ozone-depleting
hydrocarbons from the environment. It was adopted by so many countries that it has been hailed as an
example of exceptional international cooperation. Since the Montreal Protocol came into effect,
harmful ozone-depleting hydrocarbon production has significantly decreased.
NASA warned Congress of the effects of global warming.
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Environmental Law History Timeline Activity
1989
1990
1990
1992
1992
1997
1998
2005
2006
2006
2007
2007
2007
2008
The Exxon Valdez oil spill dumped 11 million gallons of oil, devastating Prince William Sound off
the coast of Alaska, and images of oil-soaked ocean life flood American homes. Spill results in Exxon
v. Baker.
The Oil Pollution Act streamlined the EPA’s ability to prevent and clean up catastrophic oil spills.
A gallop poll found that 76% of Americans considered themselves “environmentalists.”
The Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, resulting in the signing of the Convention on Climate
Change and the Earth Charter, a global pledge to control global warming.
Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife:
The Defenders of Wildlife sued the Department of the Interior to modify the Endangered Species Act
to apply to U.S. actions taken in foreign nations, rather than actions only in the U.S. or at sea. Based
on the Court’s earlier ruling in Sierra Club v. Morton, the Defenders of Wildlife had two members file
affidavits saying that they had traveled abroad to observe the habitats of endangered species (the Nile
crocodile in Egypt and the Asian elephant and leopard in Sri Lanka) and planned to visit these habitats
again. The Supreme Court ruled against the Defenders of Wildlife had failed to establish sufficient
standing to sue, as outlined in Sierra Club v. Morton. The plans of the Defenders of Wildlife
members to “some day” revisit potentially threatened habitats were not enough to establish actual or
imminent harm.
Julia Butterfly Hill, age 23, lived for 735 days in the top of a 180-feet tall California Coast Redwood
tree and successfully blocked its destruction.
David Chain was killed by a tree felled by foresters while protesting in a forest to protect the
destruction of old-growth redwood trees.
Kyoto Protocol implemented as countries around the world pledged to reduce the emission of gasses
that contribute to global warming.
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore released An Inconvenient Truth, and the following year, won the
Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to raise awareness about global warming.
The EPA Issued New Air Quality Standards to control daily “small” or “fine” particulate matter—
soot, dust, and particles too small to see. Fine particulate matter, which pollutes the air, comes from
things like car exhaust, smokestacks, and coal-fired power plants.
Massachusetts v. EPA:
Massachusetts files suit against the EPA for not establishing greenhouse gas requirements in the state.
The EPA argued that it, as a federal agency, could not regulate individual state issues. The U.S.
Supreme Court ruled in favor of Massachusetts, that the states, via the EPA, may regulate greenhouse
gasses.
Live Earth concerts around the world featured Madonna, the Black Eyed Peas, the Red Hot Chili
Peppers, Metallica, and the Beastie Boys, to raise awareness of climate change.
San Francisco Oil Spill:
On November 7, a South Korea bound container ship struck a tower supporting the San FranciscoOakland Bay Bridge spilling 58,000 gallons of oil in the San Francisco Bay. Dozens of dead and
injured seabirds were immediately found following the spill. The spill fouled miles of coastland and
according to area scientists, could threaten the lives of the bay’s birds, fish, invertebrates, and marine
mammals for years. A day after the spill, oil could be spotted 15 miles north of the city, and at least
eight beaches in San Francisco and Marin County were ordered closed.
Great Lakes Compact signed by all eight Great Lakes states in an attempt to prevent distribution and
sale of water to nonregions.
Law and the Environment
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© 2008