What are some important events in environmental science?

Answer:
Global warming, pollution of oceans and rivers, fast cutting of trees, danger to wild life and many others.

More Information:

-The publication of Silent Spring (an almost totally false book accusing DDT of destroying bird shells and causing cancer in humans.) This was one of the first truly big environmental controversies, and actually resulted in the creation of the EPA by Richard Nixon.

-Chernobyl was a massive nuclear meltdown caused by inefficient Soviet reactor design and drunk engineers not paying attention to gauges.

-Three-Mile Island and the China Syndrome A few days after the movie "The China Syndrome" came out, the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant had a tiny accident that resulted in a minor release of radiation. It was the best marketing tool ever, and the producers milked it for everything it was worth. All of a sudden, nuclear power was perceived as dangerous in America.

-The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill involved a drunk captain who ran his tanker aground in Alaska's Proudhoe Bay. Pictures of animals and beaches being scrubbed clean of crude oil tore at people's hearts for a while. Environmentalists from around the world decide to blame tankers rather than drunks.

-The Cuyahoga River used to light on fire periodically, but most memorably in 1969 because of the presence of TV cameras.

-Al Gore publishes "An Inconvenient Truth" in 2006. It's quickly revealed that he is lying about almost every statement in the film, but it is still shown to schoolchildren around the world as absolute fact. In the UK, it is even officially declared a political propaganda piece.

-The University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit's email server is hacked, and the emails demonstrating a widespread effort amongst the scientific community to lie about and exaggerate the effects of global warming, manipulate data to produce predetermined outcomes, prevent those who disagreed from being able to publish and to smear their reputations. These emails reveal the lack of objectivity amongst major scientific journals, the thuggish tactics of the modern environmentalists, and the lack of objectivity in the media. Support for a Kyoto-style initiative in America rapidly collapses after this.
First answer by Nazeer Ahmad Chaudhry. Last edit by Joe-Sixpack. Contributor trust: 6 [recommend contributor recommended]. Question popularity: 132 [recommend question].