Section 4- Environmental Movement

Protecting the Environment Started in the 1920’s with the progressives fighting to conserve the land In the 1960’s it really got a boost by Rachel Carson’s book “The Silent Spring” she warned of environmental damage done by DDT & other toxic waste from industry

Earth Day- 1st one in 1970 helped to spread the message to protect the environment President Nixon will pass a number of laws, Clean Air and Clean Water Acts as well as create a Endangered Species Act to improve the US in relationship to the environment Also the EPA is formed in 1970- a powerful gov’t agency to protect the entire ecological chain

Problems Love Canal a total mess- a community in NY devastated by toxic chemicals This leads to the Superfund- A program financed by oil and chemical taxes to identify the worst areas Three Mile Island 1979- becomes worst nuclear disaster in US history, located near Harrisburg, PA

Three Mile Island 1979- becomes worst nuclear disaster in US history, located near Harrisburg, PA Government trying to balance the concerns of the environment with the individuals and companies rights to make a profit and provide jobs-still going on

Natural Gas America's oil and natural gas industry currently supports nearly 9.2 million American jobs. Expanding access to America’s oil and natural gas resources can create 1.4 million jobs by 2030. The industry contributed $476 billion in direct support to the economy in 2010. Oil and natural gas currently supply 60% of America’s energy needs. Smart policies that encourage domestic energy production will greatly benefit our nation’s economy and energy security.

The natural-gas industry and state officials oppose increasing federal oversight. EPA controls =energy prices to , slow the development of natural-gas fields, & stop economic benefits. thousands of gallons of fracturing fluid spilled into a stream in Dimock, Pa., killing hundreds of fish.

Initially, wastewater from Pennsylvania's hydraulic fracturing wells was diverted to nearby sewage-treatment plants. But those facilities are not equipped to remove the salts and other minerals suspended in the drilling water. As a result, local waterways ended up contaminated. found benzene and methane in wells and in groundwater