On December 31, 1970, President Richard Nixon signed the Clean Air Act of 1970, establishing the most comprehensive air quality legislation in history. The act created national ambient air quality standards, gave the newly formed Environmental Protection Agency enforcement authority, set emission …
President Richard NixonSenator Edmund MuskieAmerican Petroleum InstituteNational Coal AssociationAutomotive Industry+1 moreenvironmental-regulationpublic-healthcorporate-lobbyingregulatory-reform
On December 2, 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency began operations after President Richard Nixon’s Reorganization Plan No. 3 consolidated environmental programs scattered across fifteen federal agencies. The creation of EPA represented the first comprehensive federal approach to …
President Richard NixonWilliam RuckelshausCouncil on Environmental Qualityenvironmental-regulationregulatory-reformgovernment-reorganization
On April 22, 1970, approximately 20 million Americans—10% of the nation’s population—participated in the first Earth Day, the largest mass demonstration in American history to that point. Organized by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin and coordinated by young activist Denis Hayes, Earth Day …
Senator Gaylord NelsonDenis HayesEnvironmental ActionPresident Richard Nixonenvironmental-regulationgrassroots-organizingpublic-healthsocial-movement
On September 3, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness Act into law, establishing the National Wilderness Preservation System and designating 9.1 million acres of federal land as protected wilderness. The legislation defined wilderness as “an area where the earth and its …
President Lyndon B. JohnsonHoward ZahniserWilderness SocietyU.S. Forest ServiceMining Industry+1 moreenvironmental-regulationpublic-landscorporate-lobbyingconservation
On December 17, 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Clean Air Act of 1963, the first federal legislation to establish a framework for controlling air pollution at the national level. The act authorized $95 million for research and state grants to develop pollution control programs, and gave …
President John F. KennedyPresident Lyndon B. JohnsonU.S. CongressAmerican Petroleum InstituteNational Coal Associationenvironmental-regulationpublic-healthcorporate-lobbyingregulatory-reform
On September 27, 1962, Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” was published, documenting the devastating environmental and health effects of synthetic pesticides, particularly DDT. The book meticulously detailed how chemical pesticides were poisoning ecosystems, killing wildlife, and …
Rachel CarsonMonsantoAmerican CyanamidVelsicol Chemical CorporationNational Agricultural Chemicals Associationenvironmental-regulationcorporate-disinformationregulatory-capturechemical-industrypublic-health