immediate impact
President Richard Nixon and Congress established the EPA in December 1970 to tackle the challenges of repairing the damage done to the environment and to establish guidelines to help Americans make a clean and safe environment a reality. This is an example of the government recognizing its responsibilities and taking action.
“In 1970, President Richard Nixon and Congress established the U.S. EPA in response to the growing public demand for cleaner water, air and land.”(EPA, 2013)
"The first Earth Day led to the Creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts"(Earth Day Network, 2013)
" Congress established much of the basic structure of the Clean Air Act in 1970, and made major revisions in 1977 and 1990. Dense, visible smog in many of the nation's cities and industrial centers helped to prompt passage of the 1970 legislation at the height of the national environmental movement"(EPA,2013)
The Clean Air Act was established by Congress, to help EPA set standards for companies, so they do not release toxic gases into the environment.
"According to the Environmental Protection Agency, "Public opinion polls indicate that a permanent change in national priorities followed Earth Day 1970. When polled in May 1971, 25 percent of the U.S. public declared protecting the environment to be an important goal, a 2,500 percent increase over 1969." Earth Day kicked off the "Environmental decade with a bang," as Senator Nelson later put it."(history.com, 2013)