Earth Day and the Dismantling of the Environmental Protection Agency

Yesterday was the 48th anniversary of Earth Day.  I remember small groups of people celebrating the first Earth Day in 1970.  I was in 8th grade, and my educational world was being shaken by the Federal Desegregation Act.  From going to junior high school on a full-time daily basis, I was suddenly going to school only in the afternoon at another school's buildings; and I was way ahead of the other students in everything except American history.  I remember groups of "hippies" celebrating and protesting on and around the University of Florida campus; but not much else, honestly.
   However, there was a growing movement afoot.  Dad had taken Kathy and me to the Devil's Millhopper and hiking out into the woods almost every weekend - and we always carried a brown paper grocery bag apiece, to pick up any trash we saw.  So I guess I was environmentally aware of certain problems, even though I didn't really think about them.  But suddenly, it seemed, litter was a big social issue.  Then, in 1971, the Public Service Announcement ad with Chief Iron Eyes Cody, with a tear running down his cheek, was released.  A Native American was crying over the trashing of his country; it stamped itself on the nation's memory.
   In part, thanks to Earth Day, President Nixon established the Environmental Protection Agency with an executive order from the White House. Suddenly, it seemed, Congress jumped onto the bandwagon, and the following Acts were passed:
The Clean Air Act  in 1970
The Environmental Quality Improvement Act  in 1970
The Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act  in 1971
The Clean Water Act  in 1971
The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act  in 1972
The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act  in 1972
The Marine Mammal Protection Act  in 1972
The Endangered Species Act  in1973
The Safe Drinking Water Act  in 1974
The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards  in 1975
The Hazardous Materials Transportation Act  in 1975
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act  in 1976
The Toxic Substances Control Act  in 1976
The National Forest Management Act  in 1976

  Yesterday, there were a lot of celebrations of Earth Day in and around Boulder, Colorado, my current place of residence.  Here, we have a lot of conserved and protected Open Space, trails, and green ways.  We are backed up against the Roosevelt National Forest, and have lots of parks and recreational facilities.  Boulder is striving to achieve a 85% trash recycling and composting rate.  This area wants to be "green."
   But, as we know, we are racing backwards fast, under the so-called leadership of a head of the EPA who sees his mission as (a) leaving as many citizens as possible exposed to environment degradation, and (b) picking our pockets clean in a breath-taking manner.  Just Google "EPA environmental regulations" and you'll quickly see all the damage that Scott Pruitt and the 45th President are trying to accomplish.
   If  the Democrats can regain the lead in Congress in 2018, and if we can re-capture the White House in 2020, we can swing our environmental incursions back in the other direction quickly.  We can rejoin the Paris Climate Accords, re-enforce CAFE standards, and a whole lot more...    And that same 2020 that will bring us the next presidential election will also bring us the 50th anniversary of Earth Day
   Here's hoping for a much better future for Mother Earth here in the United States, and for a much better, and re-invented, re-energized Environmental Protection Agency, as well!