Horrific famines occurred in Ethiopia during the 1970s and 1980s, especially in the Northern part of the country where there was a bad drought. Thousands of people died. Deforestation can exacerbate the problems caused by drought because rains are less likely to soak into the soil and replenish ground water. Ethiopia which is a country badly affected by deforestation loses 141,000 hectares of natural forests each year for many reasons. If the number continues to grow the future of the country will be very a bad. Currently the total number of the country’s land covered by forest is13, 000,000 ha of land 11.9 %( Mongabay 2006). Between 1990 and 2005 the country actually lost 14 percent of its forest or 2.1 million hectare, and that indicate us deforestation increased by 10.4 percent from 1990-2005, therefore because of deforestation the number of the wild animals the country has is becoming less and less over time. Previously the country has around 6,603 species of plants, 839 birds, 205 mammals 288 reptiles and 76 amphibians as well.

Taken from http://www.epa.gov 1970 Twenty million people celebrate the first Earth Day. 1970 President Richard Nixon creates EPA with a mission to protect the environment and public health. 1970 Congress amends the Clean Air Act to set national air quality, auto emission, and anti-pollution standards. 1971 Congress restricts use of lead-based paint in residences and on cribs and toys. bald eagle1972 EPA bans DDT, a cancer-causing pesticide, and requires extensive review of all pesticides. In 1996, the bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list, reflecting its recovery since the 1972 DDT ban. 1972 The United States and Canada agree to clean up the Great Lakes, which contain 95 percent of America’s fresh water and supply drinking water for 25 million people. 1972 Congress passes the Clean Water Act, limiting raw sewage and other pollutants flowing into rivers, lakes, and streams. In 1972, only 36 percent of the nation's assessed stream miles were safe for uses such as fishing and swimming: today, about 60 percent are safe for such uses. 1973 EPA begins phasing out leaded gasoline. 1973 OPEC oil embargo triggers energy crisis, stimulating conservation and research on alternative energy sources. 1973 EPA issues its first permit limiting a factory’s polluted discharges into waterways. 1974 Congress passes the Safe Drinking Water Act, allowing EPA to regulate the quality of public drinking water. 1975 Congress establishes fuel economy standards and sets tail-pipe emission standards for cars, resulting in the introduction of catalytic converters. 1976 Congress passes the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, regulating hazardous waste from its production to its disposal. 1976 President Gerald Ford signs the Toxic Substances Control Act to reduce environmental and human health risks. 1976 EPA begins phase-out of cancer-causing PCB production and use. 1977 President Jimmy Carter signs the Clean Air Act Amendments to strengthen air quality standards and protect human health. 1978 Residents discover that Love Canal, New York, is contaminated by buried leaking chemical containers. 1978 The federal government bans chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as propellants in aerosol cans because CFCs destroy the ozone layer, which protects the earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation. 1979 EPA demonstrates scrubber technology for removing air pollution from coal-fired power plants. This technology is widely adopted in the 1980s. 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, increases awareness and discussion about nuclear power safety. EPA and other agencies monitor radioactive fallout. In the 1980s 1980 Congress creates Superfund to clean up hazardous waste sites. Polluters are made responsible for cleaning up the most hazardous sites. Valley of the Drums Superfund site 1981 National Research Council report finds acid rain intensifying in the Northeastern United States and Canada. 1982 Congress enacts laws for safe disposal of nuclear waste. 1982 Dioxin contamination forces the government to purchase homes in Times Beach, Missouri. The federal government and the responsible polluters share the cleanup costs. 1982 A PCB landfill protest in North Carolina begins the environmental justice movement. 1983 Cleanup actions begin to rid the Chesapeake Bay of pollution stemming from sewage treatment plants, urban runoff, and farm waste. 1983 EPA encourages homeowners to test for radon gas, which causes lung cancer. To date, more than 18 million homes have been tested for radon. Approximately 575 lives are saved annually due to radon mitigation and radon-resistant new construction. 1985 Scientists report that a giant hole in the earth’s ozone layer opens each spring over Antarctica. 1986 Congress declares the public has a right to know when toxic chemicals are released into air, land, and water. 1987 The United States signs the Montreal Protocol, pledging to phase-out production of CFCs. 1987 Medical and other waste washes up on shores, closing beaches in New York and New Jersey. hazardous waste 1988 Congress bans ocean dumping of sewage sludge and industrial waste. 1989 Exxon Valdez spills 11 million gallons of crude oil in Alaska’s Prince William Sound.

In the 1970's one of the major topics of discussion was global cooling (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_cooling#Concern_in_the_Middle_of_the_Twentieth_Century). If you look at what connections that scientist were making to the issue of global cooling, they look an awful lot like the calamities that are being predicted for global warming (http://denisdutton.com/cooling_world.htm).