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

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.

Climate change skepticism and business interests politicized environmental protection

The EPA was created under a Republican administration with bipartisan support in response to overwhelming public demand during a time of visible pollution and environmental crises. Beginning with President Reagan, the agency was recast as burdensome, and environmental regulations have been gradually rolled back.

The Clean Air Act became the cornerstone of modern air pollution control

Passed in 1970 and strengthened through multiple amendments, the Clean Air Act authorizes the EPA to set national air quality standards, regulate industrial and vehicle emissions, and reduce pollutants such as ozone, sulfur dioxide, and lead.

The 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill galvanized the modern environmental movement

In January 1969, an oil platform off the coast of Santa Barbara ruptured, releasing roughly 3 million gallons of crude into the Pacific. The spill killed over 10,000 seabirds, dolphins, and seals, coating 35 miles of coastline.

Earth Day began as a grassroots protest coordinated by a 25-year-old

With experience as a Vietnam activist and inspired by his upbringing in a polluted mill town, Denis Hayes drew 20 million participants to the first Earth Day after being selected to organize it. The momentum of the event—celebrated across about 10,000 schools and universities—pressured Congress to pass environmental legislation.

Cleveland's Cuyahoga River caught fire over a dozen times

Between 1868 and 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland caught fire at least 13 times due to oil and industrial waste. The 1969 blaze garnered national attention, prompting federal action and contributing to the creation of the EPA, which ultimately led to a successful cleanup of the river.

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 works directly with Indigenous nations to protect native lands

Through the National EPA-Tribal Science Council, the agency works directly with federally recognized tribes, supporting air and water monitoring, pollution cleanup, and environmental restoration. Special grant programs also exist to enable tribes to develop their own environmental programs and enhance their technical capacity.

The Love Canal disaster exposed the dangers of buried toxic waste

In the late 1970s, residents of Niagara Falls, New York, discovered their neighborhood was built atop 20,000 tons of chemical waste. Leaking toxins caused illness and birth defects, sparking nationwide outrage and leading to the creation of the EPA's Superfund cleanup program in 1980.

1970s U.S. energy crisis sparked waves of green innovation

Faced with the 1973 Arab oil embargo, the U.S. responded with bold innovation—enacting a 55 mph speed limit, pioneering daylight saving time, boosting solar research, expanding nuclear power, and pushing energy-efficient building designs and automotive technologies

The Federal Emergency Management Agency leads the US response to disasters

Established in 1979, FEMA coordinates the government's response to hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and other disasters, providing funding, logistical support, and recovery assistance. In FY 2024, the agency spent $35.1B, nearly 40% of the Department of Homeland Security's total budget.

Rachel Carson's 'Silent Spring' exposed the harmful effects of pesticides on food

The 1962 book warned against the use of DDT, a pesticide often sprayed over fields of crops, cautioning that it could be harmful if ingested in excessive amounts by humans. Some credit Carson’s book with inspiring the modern environmental movement and with encouraging the US to establish the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 and ban the domestic sale of DDT in 1972. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Watergate-era reforms restricted the power of the presidency

Watergate ushered in sweeping changes. Agencies were required to release information openly, officials had to disclose finances transparently, and new laws limited conflicts of interest. The reforms also established independent oversight of ethics and safeguarded presidential records, curbing abuse and boosting accountability.

The Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention regulates toxic substances

This office evaluates and manages risks from industrial chemicals and pesticides. It reviews new chemicals before they enter the market, restricts hazardous substances, and promotes safer alternatives to protect human health and the environment.

Why the SEC was started

The Securities and Exchange Commission was created during the Great Depression to restore public trust in financial markets after the 1929 crash. Established in 1934, it enforces transparency, investigates fraud, and protects investors by requiring companies to disclose accurate information and holding violators accountable.

Watch a news clip from the evening of 'the Saturday Night Massacre'

On Oct. 20, 1973, President Nixon ordered the firing of Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox—prompting the resignations of Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy AG William Ruckelshaus. This NBC News Special Report shows the immediate aftermath of the decision.

NASA was created in 1958 in the wake of the Sputnik 1 launch

The launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957 jolted US political leaders, who urgently consulted scientists and defense experts on how to respond. Concerns about Soviet technological dominance—and the promise of civilian space applications—led directly to NASA’s creation in 1958.

Congress has handled past crises through emergency lawmaking and institutional expansion

In a 2020 podcast from the National Constitution Center, historians and political scientists examine how Congress navigated past national crises—particularly the Civil War—and what those moments reveal about governing today.

Fireworks contribute to air, water, and soil contamination and disrupt wildlife

Fireworks displays have far-reaching environmental consequences, including acid rain from displays during storms and microplastic pollution in water supplies. Wildlife has also been seen abandoning sites during fireworks and never returning.

Energy Star certifies efficiency to help Americans save energy and cut emissions

Launched by the EPA in 1992, the Energy Star program identifies appliances, buildings, and electronics that meet high efficiency standards. It has helped consumers save over $500B in energy costs and prevent 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

The iconic National Parks posters were the product of a New Deal arts initiative

Ranklin Delano Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration in 1935 as a part of his New Deal. The program was intended to both create American jobs and inspire regular citizens through art. The Federal Art Project, as a part of the WPA, employed over 5,000 artists to work on projects, including the now-iconic National Parks posters.

Chernobyl pushed the world to create rapid-alert systems for nuclear accidents

In the aftermath of the disaster, nations adopted new agreements requiring immediate international notification of nuclear accidents. They coordinated emergency assistance—efforts led by the International Atomic Energy Agency to prevent future disasters from being concealed when radiation emergencies occur.

The ACLU was founded in 1920 in direct response to the suppression of speech during World War I

The mass arrest and prosecution of anti-war activists, socialists, and immigrants under the Espionage and Sedition Acts prompted a group of civil libertarians to form the American Civil Liberties Union to defend constitutional rights.

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.

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

Biosphere 2 gradually transformed into a lab modeling environmental disasters

Built to establish a self-sustaining habitat, the privately funded facility was taken over by Columbia University in 1995. Closed-system experiments were halted in favor of investigations focused on the effects of climate change, which continued after B2 was donated to the University of Arizona in 2011.

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.

70 years ago today, city officials in Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll to protect its youth from corruption after witnessing a 'provocative' concert the night before.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

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.

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

Before writing 'Walden,' transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with a campfire that grew out of control.

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

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

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

When a Paris department store hesitated to sell Estée Lauder's perfume, she 'accidentally' broke a bottle, causing the smell to spread throughout the store and shoppers to start asking to buy the scent.

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

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

Graffiti dates back to at least ancient Pompeii, where citizens scrawled messages to one another on public walls

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.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

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.

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.

Watch how viruses like Ebola can spill over from animals to humans—and vice-versa.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'