Application #3
Richard Nixon and His Environmental Impact
Richard Nixon was the 37th president of the United States who was a member of the Republican Party and served as the president from 1969-1974. Although shadowed by the Water Gate Scandal from 1972-1974 that cut his presidency short. There were many things that he had done for the environment and is known as one of the most influential presidents for his environmental impacts.
Nixon is known for a number of things throughout his presidential run. He signed the bills during the big protests of the 70s which had a huge impact on the citizens of the United States. Signing many different bills including the Clean Water Act passed in 1972, The Endangered Species Act passed in 1973, The Clean Air Act passed in 1970, and finally the National Environmental Policy Act signed on New Years Day in 1970. While not only just signing these acts he also helped by contributing to the making of these laws protecting the citizens from the rapidly increasing pollution on the planet.
There are many different things that influenced Nixon to help make and pass the acts during his presidency which I will talk more about. In 1962 "Rachel Carson published her hugely popular book Silent Spring on the dangers of pesticides and DDTs."(Rinde) This woke the American population up to some of the dangers that were being used on different things. This created a sort of distrust and panic, and this continued in Nixon's first year as the president when the Cuyahoga River Fire in 1969 erupted for the "record setting 13th time since 1868." (OHC) Shortly after the pictures from previous fires on the river specifically the one from 1952 were popularized.
Photo of Cuyahoga River Fire (1952)
These photos increased the public's awareness and led to questioning of the safety of the environment. Earth Day was formed in 1970 with a record setting 20 million people across America covering the streets everywhere. On top of that the first photo from space of Earth was released in 1969 giving people a perspective of the big beautiful planet that we live on. All of these events encouraged Nixon to make a change for the people leading him to help propose and sign the acts.
The Fire on the Cuyahoga River
The Cuyahoga River, was a highly polluted river located in Cleveland Ohio caused by the booming economy dumping oil in the river. "The water was nearly covered in oil slicks, and it bubbled like deadly stew. Sometimes rates floated by, their corpses so bloated they were practically the size of dogs." (Boissoneault) This was something that was normal then. The oil floating by caused 13 fires in 99 years but no one cared about it until the most recent one in 1969. Although small the fire in 1969 only lasting 30 minutes causing very little damage, however it led to pictures from previous fires to be released like the one shown above from 1952. Once those were out the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which was created by Nixon in 1970 had visited the river and set regulations which had to be followed by the city of Cleveland. Although the problem was eventually solved the damage had already been done. Seeing pictures of a river on fire woke up the population who formed the first Earth Day. This encouraged the passing of the Clean Water Act. This "establishes the basic structure of regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States." (EPA) The regulations were then enforced by the EPA who established standards and recommendations for pollution in water. Nixon ultimately signing this bill, first proposed in 1948 but rejected, was a huge step in the right direction. Allowing safe water for Americans to use gave them the safety that millions of people were asking for.
Jones and Laughlin Steel Mill Who Were Partly Responsible for the Cuyahoga River Fire
The Cuyahoga River Caught Fire at Least a Dozen Times, but No One Cared Until 1969 (Boissoneault)
First Picture of Earth
The space landing mission also known as Apollo 11 lead by Neil Armstrong in 1969 was one of humanities greatest accomplishments. This event also sparked a environmental movement. The first picture of the planet that inhabits billions of people was seen from the moon allowing the people living on Earth to see Earth as a whole from a birds eye view. One of the people on Apollo 11 known as "Buzz" Aldrin described Earth as a "brilliant jewel in the black velvet sky." (De Luce) "Buzz" however was not the first person to notice this. The picture gave people a perspective, people were aware of the effects that were happening as a result of industrialization. But when people were able to see the planet and the nothingness that surrounded it people had a change in thought. Bill Anders who was on the Apollo 8 mission described it as: "people realized that we lived on a fragile planet and we needed to take care of it." (Sample) This helped Nixon's efforts to have an environmental impact. With all of the things happening from 1969-1972 with the environmental movements it gave people a perspective on what they were really harming. They had no where else to go and destroying the planet was not a route people wanted to take which the picture of Earth helped people recognize. As time went on the picture became more relevant and a staple of environmentalism. Although this was not responsible for one specific bill signed by Nixon, it helped with the progress of them going through and ultimately making a change in the country.
Earthrise: How the Iconic Image Changed the World (Sample)
Profound Things Happen When Astronauts See Earth From Space for the First Time (De Luce)
Nixon's Affects On Keene NH
In Keene New Hampshire many of the acts passed through Nixon's committee have and affect on Keene. The Clean Water Act allows the citizens of the city to have safe and clean drinking water due to the regulations presented by Nixon. The Clean Air Act allows Keene to have safer air. The Endangered Species Act prevents at risk species from being targeted in an already decreasing population of species due to a mass extinction. Finally the National Environmental Policy Act which regulates and makes sure that the Clean Air Act, and Clean Water Act are followed. Without these in place we could be living in an unsafe environment along with millions of other Americans. What Nixon has allowed citizens to do is be able to live in a much safer environment than what would have happened if these acts were not passed. Without him Keene could be a much different looking area and possibly an unsafe place to live.
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