5 CHAPTER ONE Pollution from cities industries and everyday people became a major concern in the early 1970s On April 29 1970 US president Richard M Nixon got a wake-up call It would change history It came in the form of a note from his advisers Their message was clear The nation was in a pollution crisis And the government was not ready to deal with it The advisers laid out details on the pollution They provided numbers as evidence Americans were EFFECTING CHANGE
PERSPECTIVE The First EPA Head William Ruckelshaus was the first head of the EPA The press depicted him as a mighty fighter for the environment In early 1971 Ruckelshaus faced off against Union Carbide a chemical company The EPA had asked the company for a schedule to decrease the air pollution it created at an Ohio plant Ruckelshaus rejected the company’s proposed schedule Union Carbide responded with a threat It said it would fire 625 workers if it were forced to reduce air pollution more quickly The EPA worked out a deal with Union Carbide It saved jobs while still improving air quality By April 1972 the plant had reduced its air pollution by 70 percent 6 throwing away 100 million tires 28 billion bottles and 48 billion cans each year The long-term effect of all this trash was unknown Experts worried it could cause major problems in the future The advisers suggested creating a new department called the Environmental Protection Agency EPA Several existing agencies would join into a single unit They would oversee the government’s environmental policy The president followed the
recommendation On July 9 1970 Nixon announced his plan to create the EPA The US Congress approved the plan The government officially formed the EPA on December 2 1970 It changed how the US government dealt with the environment The Agency’s Inspiration The history of the EPA began with a note from Nixon’s advisers But the agency itself credits its creation to Rachel Carson Its website says The EPA today may be said without exaggeration to be the extended shadow of Rachel Carson The influence of her book has brought together over 14,000 scientists lawyers managers and other employees across the country to fight the good fight for environmental protection This book Silent Spring was Carson’s most famous work It was published in 1962 The book drew attention to the negative effects of pesticides She singled out the pesticide DDT as especially damaging People praised Carson’s writing for its attention to scientific details They also liked its exciting and 7
