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environmentalism

(Encyclopedia)environmentalism, movement to protect the quality and continuity of life through conservation of natural resources, prevention of pollution, and control of land use. The philosophical foundations for ...

museums of science

(Encyclopedia)museums of science, institutions or buildings where collections relevant to science and technology are preserved and displayed to promote education and research. While the preponderance of these museu...

Trianon, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Trianon, Treaty of, 1920, agreement following World War I in which the Allies disposed of Hungarian territories. The internal chaos in Hungary that followed the dissolution (1918) of the Austro-Hungar...

reclamation of land

(Encyclopedia)reclamation of land, practice of converting land deemed unproductive into arable land by such methods as irrigation, drainage, flood control, altering the texture and mineral and organic content of so...

Delaware River Basin Compact

(Encyclopedia)Delaware River Basin Compact dĕlˈəwâr, –wər [key], providing for the utilization and development of the water resources of the Delaware River basin. In 1961 the federal government and the state...

public land

(Encyclopedia)public land, in U.S. history, land owned by the federal government but not reserved for any special purpose, e.g., for a park or a military reservation. Public land is also called land in the public d...

energy, sources of

(Encyclopedia)energy, sources of, origins of the power used for transportation, for heat and light in dwelling and working areas, and for the manufacture of goods of all kinds, among other applications. The develop...

Idaho, University of

(Encyclopedia)Idaho, University of, mainly at Moscow; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered and opened 1889. Among its facilities are the Water and Energy Resources Institute and the Forest, Wild...

Vermont, University of

(Encyclopedia)Vermont, University of, officially named the Univ. of Vermont and State Agricultural College, at Burlington; land-grant and state supported; chartered 1791, opened 1800. The university has a state agr...

Justice, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Justice, United States Department of, federal executive department established in 1870 and charged with providing the means for enforcing federal laws, furnishing legal counsel in federal cases, and c...

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