Prior to the 1900s, people did not believe an animal could go extinct–they assumed nature was endless. It wasn’t until the passenger pigeon disappeared that the U.S. public became aware and top of mind. When President Theodore Roosevelt complained that he spent months without seeing a bison during his many hunting expeditions it kicked off an unheard of conservation movement to prevent the extinction of bison. It’s believed this was only made possible because of the public recognition of the passenger pigeon’s demise that the movement was made possible.
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Space Exploration Led to Earth Day
The US space program led to the first color photographs of the Earth taken from the Moon in 1969. No one had ever seen it from so far away and it moved people. In fact, it resulted in a new conservation movement which eventually led to Earth Day in 1970.