1980 in the environment
| List of years in the environment |
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| (table) |
This is a list of notable events relating to the environment in 1980. They relate to environmental law, conservation, environmentalism and environmental issues.
Events
- The Global 2000 Report to the President is commissioned by US President Jimmy Carter.[1]
- William R. Catton Jr. publishes Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change.
- President Carter signs the Low Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of 1980
- A decade of "chronic sand mining" at Vigie Beach, Saint Lucia worsened the effects of hurricanes and made "coastal resources management development" more difficult;[2] the Beach was so badly "effect[ed] by human interference" that "the bay was dredged in 1980 to rebuild the beach."[3]
January
- Joy Adamson, a conservationist best known for her work with Elsa the lioness, was murdered in Africa. She wrote the book Born Free which was made into a film of the same name.
May
- On May 18, Mount St. Helens erupted violently. It takes decades for the area to undergo succession.
December
- The National Parks Act 1980 is passed in New Zealand.
- On December 2, 1980, US President Jimmy Carter signed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which provided varying degrees of special protection to over 157,000,000 acres of land in Alaska.[4]
- US President Jimmy Carter signed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, also known as the "Superfund" law, for the investigation and cleaning up of sites contaminated with hazardous substances.[5]
Undated
- The Praslin Power Station is commissioned and installed in Seychelles.[6]
See also
References
- ^ Pierre, Andrew J. (Spring 1981). "Capsule Review - The Global 2000 Report to the President. Vol. I: Entering the Twenty-First Century. Vol. II: The Technical Report". Foreign Affairs. 59 (4). Retrieved July 25, 2025.
- ^ Clarke, John R. (1985). Coastal Resources Management Development Case Studies. Research Planning Institute (Columbia, S.C.). pp. 244, 246, 276. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
- ^ St. Lucia: Country Environmental Profile, Caribbean Conservation Association, 1991, pp. 154, 239, 310, retrieved February 1, 2026
- ^ United States. Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. Pub. L. 96–487 Approved December 2, 1980.
- ^ United States. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980. Pub. L. 96–510 Approved December 11, 1980.
- ^ "US $4.3m sound reduction enclosures for Praslin power station". Seychelles Nation. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2024.