By: Chloe Huckins

1854: Henry David Thoreau publishes his influential book entitled Walden, which encourages people to care about the environment and promotes the idea of preserving nature.[1]

1901-1909: The presidency of Theodore Roosevelt heightened awareness and brought about significant government reforms in wilderness conservation. The Antiquities Act of 1906 was particularly powerful, as it allowed the president to protect areas deemed National Monuments.[2]

1977: The U.S. Department of Energy launches the Solar Energy Research Institute devoted to research in harvesting power from the sun.[3]

1980: After a long battle, Mayor Don Sanderson led the city of Woodbury, NJ to mandate one of the first city-wide recycling programs in the U.S. Other cities soon followed suit.[4]

1999: The Honda Insight was the first hybrid car to hit the mass market in the U.S. It received multiple awards and averaged 61 mpg in the city and 70 mpg on the highway.[5]

2005: The locavore (or local food) movement begins after Earth Day in San Francisco when four California women decided to challenge themselves to eat locally for a month. This starts the conversation about food miles, sustainability and “food deserts.”[6]

2010: Since its launch, the 2010 Nissan LEAF has been the best selling all-electric car ever.[7]

2011: A city wide composting program, which accepts all food scraps (including meat and dairy products), comes to Portland, OR.[8]

2013: Eugene’s Bag Ban, outlawing the use of plastic bags in all stores, goes into effect in May.[9] San Francisco was the first U.S. city to do so in 2007.[10]

2014: Ordinary light bulbs (anything below 60 watts) are officially banned in the U.S., beginning January 1.[11]


[1] Thoreau, Henry D, and Thomas W. Nason. Walden, Or, Life in the Woods. New York: Heritage Press, 1939. Print.

[2] Gallagher, Deborah R. Environmental Leadership: A Reference Handbook. Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE Publications, Inc, 2012. Print.

[3] “The History of Solar.” Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. U.S. Department of Energy, n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2014. <http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/pdfs/solar_timeline.pdf>

[4] Rhodes, Rosalee P. “Time as a Public Servant Ends for ‘father of Recycling’ His Plan Was Modeled Nationwide. He Will Retire as Mayor.” Philly.com. Interstate General Media, 1 Dec. 2002. Web. 25 Jan. 2014. <http://articles.philly.com/2002-12-01/news/25359709_1_recycling-program-woodbury-public-servant>

[5] Berman, Brad. “History of Hybrid Vehicles.” Hybrid Cars. Disqus, 14 June 2011. Web. 22 Jan. 2014. <http://www.hybridcars.com/history-of-hybrid-vehicles/>

[6] “Oxford Word Of The Year: Locavore.” OUPblog. Oxford University Press, 12 Nov. 2007. Web. 25 Jan. 2014. <http://blog.oup.com/2007/11/locavore/>

[7] “Nissan LEAF Smashes 50,000 Global Sales Milestone.” Nissan News. Nissan, 14 Feb. 2013. Web. 22 Feb. 2014. <http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/releases/nissan-leaf-smashes-50-000-global-sales-milestone>

[8] Schmidt, Brad. “Portland Food Composting Begins Monday: Trick or Treat?” Oregon Live. The Oregonian, 30 Oct. 2011. Web. 22 Jan. 2014. <http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/10/portland_composting_begins_mon.html>

[9] Gaitan, Catalina. “Hotseat: David Tyler.” Willamette Week. Willamette Week Newspaper, 31 July 2013. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. < http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20963-hotseat_david_tyler.html>

[10] Gorn, David. “San Francisco Plastic Bag Ban Interests Other Cities.” NPR. National Public Radio, 27 Mar. 2008. Web. 22 Jan. 2014. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89135360>

[11] “What You Need To Know Before The 2014 Light Bulb Ban Goes Into Effect.” Huff Post. The Huffington Post, 17 Dec. 2013. Web. 25 Jan. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/17/light-bulb-ban_n_4460979.html>