1965 President Lyndon Johnson states in a Special Message to Congress, “This generation has altered the composition of the atmosphere on a global scale through … a steady increase in carbon …

1970 President Richard Nixon establishes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 takes effect President Richard Nixon’s Special Message to Congress in establishing the …

1970 Congress enacts the Clean Air Act, in a near-unanimous endorsement of strong environmental protections In a remarkable show of bipartisanship, the Senate vote for the Clean Air Act is …

1971 Development of supersonic transport raises concerns about impacts on climate, and the Climate Impact Assessment Program is created under the Department of Transportation Described as “the first major project …

President Jimmy Carter sends Congress a comprehensive National Energy Plan with 113 legislative proposals, including new taxes on automobiles, on utilities that burn oil or natural gas instead of coal, …

The National Climate Program Act increases federal funding for climate research, under the National Climate Program Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The law includes a Congressional finding …

President Jimmy Carter climbs to the roof of the White House to mark the installation of 32 solar panels to heat water for the White House At the dedication ceremony …

The Reagan Administration cuts energy R&D funding by more than half; numerous battles erupt in Congress over the Department of Energy’s attempts to reduce its climate research budget and the …

The Trump transition team announces a plan to strip NASA of funding for its Earth Science Division The Earth Science Division of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration works on …

Dec. 2016 President Obama announces that 98 percent of U.S.-controlled Arctic waters (115 million acres) and 3.8 million acres of underwater canyon along the Atlantic coast will be permanently withheld …