Climate change skepticism and business interests politicized environmental protection

Environmental regulation had bipartisan support in the 1970s

During the 1970s, Democrats and Republicans alike backed landmark environmental laws. Congress passed the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts with overwhelming bipartisan majorities—reflecting broad public agreement on protecting the environment.

The environmental crises of the late 1960s led to the founding of the EPA

Disasters such as the Cuyahoga River fire and the Santa Barbara oil spill prompted Congress and President Nixon to establish the Environmental Protection Agency in December 1970, with the goal of unifying federal efforts to control pollution.

How a skin cancerous growth shifted an initially skeptical President Reagan on the ozone crisis

While a 1985 Nature study revealing the Antarctic ozone hole jolted public concern, Reagan's administration was more focused on the Cold War than on environmental policy. His health scare and the market potential for developing alternatives to chlorofluorocarbons helped turn the tide, leading to the Montreal Protocol's unanimous ratification by a bipartisan Senate in 1988.

Explore policy options for reforming the Clean Water Act

The Bipartisan Policy Center brought together experts from across the political spectrum to discuss ways to expedite federal permits for energy and infrastructure projects, including updating some provisions of the Clean Water Act to reduce bureaucratic hurdles without compromising water protections.

The EPA budget was 0.2% of total federal spending in 2024

The EPA spent $13.7B in 2024, making it 23rd among federal agencies in total expenditures. Of that money, more than half was distributed to state environmental agencies for sustainability and environmental protection programs.

The EPA partners with other countries to strengthen environmental protection

Through bilateral programs on every continent, the EPA shares American environmental expertise with developing nations and economies in transition. These partnerships support air and water protection, chemical safety, and pollution control, while advancing US environmental priorities abroad.

The Office of Air and Radiation oversees America's clean air and climate programs

The office develops and enforces national standards for air quality, vehicle emissions, and radiation protection. In 2025, the EPA announced the closure of two key divisions under the office responsible for regulating climate and air pollution: the Office of Atmospheric Protection and the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.

Understanding why Republicans have challenged funding for the NSF

Lack of Congressional support in funding the National Science Foundation has often been justified by the party's interest in cutting federal deficits and reducing waste for seemingly frivolous research projects. However, an analysis of NSF grant data from 1992 to 2018 shows that awards were given to Democratic constituencies at disproportionately higher rates than to Republican ones, despite a lack of evidence of partisanship in proposal reviews. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

The Supreme Court curbed the EPA's power to regulate carbon emissions in 2022

In West Virginia v. EPA, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the EPA exceeded its authority by requiring industrywide carbon cuts. Chief Justice Roberts' opinion invoked the "major questions" doctrine, which limits the ability of federal agencies to act without explicit congressional approval.

Large oil companies knew about the impact of carbon emissions since the ’70s

PBS Frontline’s The Power of Big Oil reveals how industry giants like Exxon and Shell were researching climate change in the 1970s but then funded denial campaigns—using internal science to sow public doubt for decades.

Some Watergate reforms may have fueled today's partisan, confrontational Congress

The newly elected officials after the Watergate scandal dismantled seniority norms, opened committee votes, and televised proceedings—efforts aimed at increasing transparency that, unintentionally, may have fueled the polarized and combative tone of today's Congress.

Issues of ICE conduct span multiple Republican and Democratic administrations

Complaints of abuse and harsh treatment increased as detentions and deportations of undocumented immigrants reached record levels during former President Barack Obama's first term. Frontline investigated the causes of these claims in 2011 and found that these issues cross party lines.

Central bank independence is correlated with lower inflation on average

Executives may seek to influence the central bank to reduce interest rates for political points. Since its creation in the early 20th century, the US' Federal Reserve saw the most interactions from the president during the Nixon and Ford administrations.

President Trump has changed decades-long norms for the DOJ during his second term

The Trump administration made changes to ethics oversight, instructed US attorneys to coordinate with the White House, dismissed cases, and overhauled the career hiring process in the Civil Rights division. The administration asserts these changes were justified and aimed to end what they claim as the weaponization of government.

Views on the Nixon pardon softened over time

Americans initially rejected Ford's September 1974 pardon of Nixon—38% approved it versus 53% disapproved—but by 1986, a slim majority (54%) believed it was the right call, showing that public sentiment softened over more than a decade after the controversy.

According to Bill Nye, science is under threat from an erosion in critical thinking

He states that conducting research online cannot replace consulting with scientific experts who have spent their entire lives intimately studying a field. The former science education show host argues that deepening cynicism towards scientific institutions has been fueled by leaders embracing debunked and unsupported claims.

Many politicians join private equity firms after leaving Washington

Both Democrats and Republicans have a history of leaving politics to work in private equity, raising concerns about the government's protection of private equity firms.

As of 2024, approximately 44% of Americans support fracking

This makes the method less popular than carbon-free forms of energy production, such as solar, wind, and nuclear power, but more popular than coal mining. Support for fracking increased 7% from 2020 to 2024, primarily due to increased support from Republicans and older Americans.

Presidents from both parties have resisted the authority of the War Powers Act

Presidents from both parties have treated the War Powers Resolution as voluntary, framing compliance as seeking "support" rather than "permission." Courts have declined to rule on the law's constitutionality each time a related case was brought before them.

In recent decades, Supreme Court nominations have grown increasingly contentious and partisan

This video examines the historical shift from bipartisan, civil confirmation hearings to the deeply divisive process seen today. It focuses on the 1987 nomination of Robert Bork, the most recent nominee to be rejected, as an important moment in this transformation.

Simulate the effects of government policies on climate projections

The En-ROADS tool lets you role-play as a global decision maker to explore the long-term effects of various policy ideas on climate. More than 341,000 people worldwide, including over 130 members of Congress, have used the simulation.

The New Deal shifted economic and social authority to the federal government

Franklin D. Roosevelt's response to the Great Depression expanded federal power through economic regulation and social welfare programs, permanently reshaping federalism by shifting responsibility for financial security to Washington while leaving states to administer many of these programs.

The Keep America Beautiful campaign shifted the blame for litter from manufacturers to individuals

This podcast examines how one organization reshaped the American public's relationship with recycling, asking why responsibility for a cleaner environment falls to individuals rather than to the companies that produce waste.

Even in nature reserves, climate change is driving rapid ecological collapse

Studies show a dramatic decline in insect populations, resulting in cascading global biodiversity losses across non-insect species. The balances in tropical ecosystems are the most affected by climate change.

Steve Bannon was made CEO of the company in charge of Biosphere 2 in 1994

After providing $200M to launch and upgrade B2 before its second mission, billionaire philanthropist Ed Bass appointed the future political strategist and then financial consultant to help find new investments and bring costs under control. Fearing interference from non-science experts, Biospherians from the first mission vandalized the project.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

Poison ivy will likely become both larger and more resilient due to climate change.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

Some renewable energy sources may weaken the resiliency of electric grids by removing outage buffers provided by coal- and natural gas-fired plants, which provide the system with more time to find a new power source if a plant goes down.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

How the most famous Ebola book, The Hot Zone, which sold 3.5 million copies and was translated into 30 languages, got aspects of the disease so wrong.

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is not a pristine document, and even features a smudged anonymous handprint in the bottom left corner.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

About 12.5% of US adults experience a phobia in their lifetime, a diagnosis that hinges on the intense fear interfering with daily life and persisting for at least six months.

Artificial coral reefs have been 3D printed from nontoxic, biodegradable terracotta clay, which coral polyps have used as a foundation for rebuilding marine ecosystems.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.