Richard Nixon's Environmental Importance
Section 1: Richard Nixon (1913-1994) was the 37th President of The United States of America. He served for more than five and a half years as president before resigning due to the Watergate Scandal. Although he is remembered strict conservative of the Republican party, Nixon surprisingly made many environmental impacts for our country. The Nixon administration was the first to bring up the environment as a real issue. In his State of the Union address in 1970, Nixon says "It is essential that we take steps to prevent chemical substances from becoming environmental hazards. Unless we develop better methods to assure adequate testing of chemicals, we will be inviting the environmental crisis of the future." - Richard Nixon. (quotefancy.com) President Nixon then drew up a 37-point message on the American environment that included goals ranging from monitoring motor vehicle emissions standards, to halting all dumping in the Great Lakes. Also in 1970, Nixon signed into law the National Environmental Policy Act. NEPA outlined, for the first time in history, clear environmental policies and goals. To date, more than 100 nations have also enacted National Environment Policies modeled after NEPA. (learnodo-newtonic.com) Nixon's biggest environmental contribution would be establishing the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA was then given power to fine and sanction violators. The EPA also does environmental assessment, research, and education, and has since grown to having over 14,000 full time employees. The EPA would go on to pass the historic Clean Air Act in 1972. Nixon's environmental interest may have been more out of necessity than desire though. After oil spills in Santa Barbara and later Cleveland caught the attention of Americans, many demanded action. To Nixon's credit however, he actually put laws into place that his predecessors had never done before (crosscut.com).
Section 1 Continued: Line 'Em Up - James Taylor James Taylor - Line 'Em Up (Live at the Beacon Theater) - Bing video
This song by James Taylor is about Richard Nixon's final time leaving the White House with the iconic double peace sign gesture. While the song is not about Nixon and his Environmental accomplishments, it is still a song about him and what he may have been thinking at the time by one of the greatest musicians of all time.
Section 2: The Cuyahoga River is a river located in Cleveland, Ohio and feeds into Lake Erie. Being located in Cleveland, a major manufacturing center, it was greatly affected by the industrial industry and pollution. The river famously caught on fire on June 22nd, 1969. Shockingly, the river had caught on fire thirteen times before 1969. It took until fire number fourteen to spark change. The main difference with this fire was that everyone was able to see it on television. It's one thing to read about a tragedy, but to see it with your own two eyes is a different story (crosscut.com). Up until that time, environmentalists were brushed off and ignored, with there being no regulation against dumping and polluting. This environmental tragedy was one of the main sparks of the American Environmental Movement. The next year on April 22nd, 1970, the first Earth Day was held. An estimated 20 million people attended festivities that day. (history.com) Another consequence of the Cuyahoga River catching fire and the subsequent protests was the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Environmental Policy Act (newtonic.com) Up until that point, environmental protection was not really discussed and always took a back seat to other issues. But after seeing the image of the river on fire and people protesting on Earth Day, change finally came. Richard Nixon is connected to these events because he was the acting President that formed these organizations. These organization were the first of their kind back then and are still around and prevalent today.
Section 2 Continued: Cuyahoga - R.E.M. Cuyahoga - R.E.M. (1986) - Bing video
This song is about the Cuyahoga River and the damage humans have done to it. The song has a line "We knee skinned it you and me, we knee skinned that river red. this is where we walked, this is where we swam" He is saying that we use to respect and use this river, but know we turned it red with fire from polluting.
Section 3: We still feel the effect of the Cuyahoga River fire because of the aftermath and protests that followed it. Even though he was President 50 years ago, Richard Nixon and the policies and organizations he put forward still have a lasting impact on every American to this day. The most notable of acts by Richard Nixon is the Clean Air Act. This act authorized the development of both federal and state regulations to limit emissions. (epa.gov) It is because of the Clean Air Act that people in Keene, NH are able to breathe freely and not have to worry about what is in their air and if there are any dangerous chemicals in it or not. We also don't have to worry about another Cuyahoga River fire tragedy. Without The Clean Water Act revised by Richard Nixon, our rivers would be so polluted that we would be having river fire left and right.
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