Concern for the environment in the US extends back into the nineteenth century, when nature lovers and sports enthusiasts first sought protection for areas of exceptional natural beauty or significance. But it was not until the late 1960's that environmental concerns entered the mainstream of American political debate. By then many Americans had come to the conclusion that more development was not necessarily desirable, especially if it meant more polluted air, dying lakes and rivers, and a landscape strewn with unsightly waste, and crowded with sprawling construction projects. In May of 1970, several environmental groups staged the first Earth Day celebration, designed to heighten public awareness of environmental problems. The success of that initial effort led to it becoming a regular annual event.
During the 1950s and 1960s, industrial and vehicle pollution levels had become a serious threat to public health, so the environmental movement of this period focused heavily on restoring and ensuring the cleanliness of basic air and water supplies. Rapidly expanding development pressures were also spurring efforts to preserve unique lands and threatened wildlife habitats, and to protect the endangered species supported by them before they vanished into extinction. It is generally accepted that the environmental protection movement was so successful because of its grass roots support; groups of activists in hundreds of towns that took the initiative in cleaning up their own communities. During the 1970s, this local activism reinforced support for the passage of key laws at the national level, such as the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, and National Environmental Policy Act, which together have constituted the foundation for environmental standards in the US ever since.
In addition to this national legislation, the year after the first Earth Day, by executive order, President Nixon established the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); an organization dedicated to restoring and protecting the environment. The EPA spearheaded many contemporary efforts to protect the environment, but it was not working alone. It was allied with a wide variety of distinctly different and separate organizations ranging from a small number of well-funded high-profile national and international organizations to many thousands of smaller special interest groups and even individuals working at the local level. The EPA has now become one of the government's largest and most influential regulatory agencies. Through its own efforts and in cooperation with other organizations, it has earned a large measure of credit for protecting and restoring the quality of the environment in the United States.
Although one might assume that the cause or environmental protection would endanger universal support, it does have its detractors. One criticism, that has been leveled against the movement is the claim that its predictions about the dire consequences of environmental damage have often been in error. Environmentalists counter this assertion by pointing out that their warnings have often brought about changes on the part of the public, the government and private industry, and that these changes prevented the predictions from being realized. However, just as it is often very difficult to gauge the impact of human activity on something as complex as the environment, it is equally difficult to determine which side is right in this debate. Because environmental issues cover such a wide range of concerns, this is a question that must be considered on a case by case basis. These voices of dissent have demonstrated to environmentalists the need to apply quantitative methods in assessing the extent of the destruction they have witnessed, or the degree to which their work has been manifested in actual improvement of the environment.
However vocal the critics of environmental protection efforts may be, given the very considerable body of environmental legislation that exists, it is safe to assume that their views do not represent the majority opinion. Private advocacy groups, the EPA, state legislatures and Congress have worked together to enact numerous laws regarding air and water quality, land use and waste management. That should be evidence enough of the broad extent of the popular support that underlies the movement.
