Photos: What America looked like before the EPA

[Hestia]

In 1972, the year-old EPA had photographers traverse the country to document the (often dire) state of the environment. This project, Documerica, was "the visual echo of the mission of the EPA," according to one photographer. Now, 40 years later, archive specialist Jerry Simmons has unearthed the photos and put them online at the National Archives website and on Flickr. It's a time capsule of life before the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts.

http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/topics/environment/documerica-topics.html

We need to send these to the 'pugs who want to take us back to these days.

[Kurmudgeon]

1. I remember when you couldn't hardly drive up and down the Ohio Valley for the fumes.

[Politicalboi]

2. I liked the Anti-Railroad poster

http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/anti-rail/

Mother Look Out For Your Children. LOL!

[idahoblue]

3. Flickr

Is there a link to the Flickr site?

[woo me with science]

4. Marvelous post.

And much needed right now as we head into election season.

[Surya Gayatri]

5. EPA-- the only positive thing

for which tricky Dick will ever be remembered, his only honorable legacy.
So, of course, his neo-con brethren are trying to destroy it. SG

Edit: Thanks for this excellent post, Hestia.

[CanonRay]

6. I can remember my eyes burning from fumes while in the school bus

sometimes the "air" was blueish-green-gray. It was just "normal". I grew up in Chicago in the 50's.