2015 Event The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking to reduce greenhouse gases from oil and gas operations, proposing a rule to cut methane emissions from these sources by 40 to 45 percent of 2012 baseline levels over the next 10 years 2015 Event The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency turns polluter by accidentally releasing a million gallons of heavy-metal-laden mining wastewater into Colorado's Animas River while investigating a Superfund site 2015 Event U.S. President Barack Obama proposes 'The Clean Power Plan' to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 32 percent of 2005 levels; the plan is more stringent than the 30% reductions proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency 2014 Event New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announces a ban of hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking; the technique, used to extract natural gas and oil, requires injection of chemicals, sand and water at high pressure underground, posing environmental concerns 2014 Event China updates its environmental laws, providing more legal framework for addressing violations; the laws were last changed in 1989, prior to the nation's accelerated growth and rate of environmental degradation 2013 Event In southwest China, environmental and health concerns among residents are raised when 1,000 dead ducks pulled from the Sichuan River 2011 Event The oil spill from MV Rena, the ship stranded off the coast of Tauranga, New Zealand, becomes the country's worst environmental disaster 1992 Event World's largest environmental summit opens, Rio De Janeiro Brazil 1990 Event U.N. appoints Olivia Newton-John environmental ambassador 1989 Death Edward Abbey (environmental author), dies after surgery at 62 1970 Event Environmental Protection Agency begins (Dir: William Ruckelshaus) 1947 Birthday Jim Nollman, born in Boston, Massachusetts, graduated from Tufts University, composer, musical theater, conceptual artist, environmental activist, recorded interspecies music with wolves, whales, dolphins, deer, elk, desert rats 1938 Birthday Alvin Curran, born in Providence, Rhode Island, composer, professor at Mills College, co-founder of Musica Elettronica Viva, using electronic and environmental found sounds 1934 Birthday Bob Martinez, born in America, served as Mayor of Tampa, Florida and 40th Governor of Florida, initiated Preservation 2000, America's largest environmental land acquisition program, appointed Drug Czar by President George H.W. Bush 1932 Birthday William D Ruckelshaus, headed Environmental Protection Agency
