Legislation
"Silent Spring affected government policy. Every one of the toxic chemicals named in the book was either banned or severely restricted in the United States by 1975"
-Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, Environment & Society Portal.
-Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, Environment & Society Portal.
Rachel Carson inspired several administrations to proactively pass legislation that limit adverse human impact, preserving the environment for future generations.
Pesticide Control Bill - May 12, 1964
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"Rachel Carson's goal, to alert the public and to build a fire under the Government, was an astounding success."
- Payton, Brian. "Rachel Carson : Feature Articles." Earth Observatory. NASA |
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Pesticide Control Bill, 12 May 1964, Box 105, Statements of LBJ, May 8, 1964 - May 18 , 1964, LBJ Presidential Museum Archives
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National Environmental Policy Act - January 1, 1970
National Environmental Policy Act ,1 January, 1970, The American Presidency Project
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"requires federal agencies to integrate environmental values into their decision making processes by considering the environmental impacts of their proposed actions and reasonable alternatives to those actions."
- EPA website |
Clean Air and Water Acts - 1970
"The Clean Air Act (CAA) is the comprehensive federal law that regulates air emissions from stationary and mobile sources." - 42 U.S.C. §7401 Et Seq. (1970)." Summary of the Clean Air Act, EPA
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National Environmental Policy Act -31 December, 1970, The American Presidency Project
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Endangered Species Act - 1973
Public Law 98-205 Dec. 28, 1973, US Government Publishing Office
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"...provide a means whereby the ecosystems upon which endangered species and threatened species depend may be conserved… and to provide a program for the conservation of such species"
- "Rachel Carson and the Endangered Species", Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. |
Toxic Substance Control Act of 1976
"The Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 was Silent Spring’s greatest legal vindication. ...Under its authority, the EPA acted to ban or severely restrict all six compounds indicted in Silent Spring—DDT, chlordane, heptachlor, dieldrin, aldrin, and endrin—and assumed responsibility for testing new chemicals."
-Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, Environment & Society Portal. |
Toxic Substances Control Act, 12 October, 1976, The American Presidency Project
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