From Burning Rivers to Climate Change
The Cuyahoga River is approximately 85 miles long, running from Hambden, Ohio, through Cleveland, and emptying into Lake Erie. During the 20th Century, the river was one of the most polluted rivers in the country. The surface was covered with "brown oily film" and "large quantities of black heavy oil floating in slicks" were frequently observed. The color changed from grey-brown to rusty brown as the river proceeded downstream. Sludge accumulated at the bottom and animal life did not exist.
The river has caught fire at least 13 times. The largest was in 1952, causing over $1 million in damages. On June 22, 1969, the river caught fire again, causing around $50,000 in damages. After Time magazine published an article about the fire, which described the Cuyahoga as a river that "oozes rather than flows" and in which a person "does not drown but decays," a flurry of environmental legislation was passed. This was the start of the modern environmental movement. In order to address these concerns, President Nixon officially formed the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970.
Within just a few years, Congress had passed several new laws that the EPA enforced. The Clean Air Act of 1970 authorized the EPA to set national air quality, auto emission, and anti-pollution standards. A year later, Congress passed the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act that restricted the use of lead-based paint in homes and on cribs and toys. The EPA began testing the fuel economy of vehicles to keep consumers informed about the gas mileage of their vehicles. In 1972, the EPA banned the widely-used, incredibly harmful pesticide DDT. That same year, the Clean Water Act was passed in order to clean up waterways like the Cuyahoga River and prevent further pollution.
While the EPA was doing all of this, a new environmental catastrophe was observed: the ozone layer was becoming depleted. This was primarily caused by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), a human-produced gas used in aerosol products; 511 million pounds of CFCs were released from aerosols in 1973. In response, the EPA implemented a ban on CFCs, prohibiting their use in most aerosol products. When the problem persisted, forty-six countries signed on to the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty that aimed to regulate the use of CFCs and other ozone-depleting chemicals. The use of these chemicals has dropped significantly due to the treaty; by 2005, the use of chemicals controlled by the agreement had fallen by 90-95%.
1973 was also the year of the OPEC oil embargo. Regulating oil and gas became more of a concern after that. Transportation control measures were passed, which included exclusive bus lanes, controls on gas handling operations, and mass transit incentives. When the dangers of leaded gasoline were confirmed, the EPA issued regulations in order to phase it out. After the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, which the EPA played a large role in cleaning up, Congress passed the Pollution Prevention Act. The first regulations on petroleum refineries were introduced in 1995, cutting emissions by 53,000 tons and benefitting the 4.5 million Americans who lived near the refineries.
The possibility that greenhouse gas emissions would cause the planet's climate to change has been theorized for more than a hundred years, but it wasn't until 1988 that global warming became a real concern. The summer of 1988 was the hottest summer on record, with widespread drought and wildfires across the United States. NASA scientist James Hansen delivered testimony to Congress that year, saying he was 99% sure that global warming was happening. Study after study was released, showing that the Earth was warming due to greenhouse gases and that the effects would be devastating.
In response, the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997 and signed by 41 countries. President Clinton signed it, pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2% below 1990 levels by 2012. Then, shortly after taking office, President Bush announced that the United States would not implement the Kyoto Protocol. The head of the EPA at the time, Christine Todd Whitman, described the move as "the equivalent to 'flipping the bird,' frankly, to the rest of the world." Under President Bush, climate change was politicized and data showing that global warming was accelerating was swept under the rug. During this time, the EPA did not accomplish a great deal and the environment suffered.
When President Obama took office, climate change became a real priority. The EPA set the nation's first greenhouse gas emissions for cars and gave California permission to set its own auto emission standards. Similar standards were also set for trucks and buses. Carbon pollution standards for new power plants were proposed. Guidelines to cut carbon pollution from existing power plants were also proposed. In 2016, the Paris Climate Accord was unveiled; 195 nations pledged to set targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in order to prevent a global temperature rise of 2 degrees Celsius.
Then, Donald Trump got elected. President Trump, who has called climate change a Chinese hoax, withdrew from the Paris Climate Accord. President Trump also appointed Scott Pruitt, a self-described "leading advocate against the EPA's activist agenda," to head the EPA. Under Pruitt, the EPA proposed a repeal of the Clean Power Plan that the agency had implemented under Obama. When Pruitt resigned due to a staggering list of scandals, Andrew Wheeler stepped in to take his place. Before working for the EPA, Wheeler was a lobbyist for Murray Energy Corporation, one of the largest coal companies in the U.S., and recently stated that climate change is "not his top priority."
The effects of climate change are already being felt. The oceans are more acidic and have lower levels of oxygen. Insects are disappearing. Storms are growing stronger and wildfires are getting larger. A recent report from the United Nations warned that something must be done within the next welve years if global warming is to be kept at a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius. If that goal is not met, the damage will be cataclysmic. Unless the EPA, the government, and nations around the world take real action to curb greenhouse gas emissions, humanity may be brought to the brink of extinction.
The river has caught fire at least 13 times. The largest was in 1952, causing over $1 million in damages. On June 22, 1969, the river caught fire again, causing around $50,000 in damages. After Time magazine published an article about the fire, which described the Cuyahoga as a river that "oozes rather than flows" and in which a person "does not drown but decays," a flurry of environmental legislation was passed. This was the start of the modern environmental movement. In order to address these concerns, President Nixon officially formed the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970.
Within just a few years, Congress had passed several new laws that the EPA enforced. The Clean Air Act of 1970 authorized the EPA to set national air quality, auto emission, and anti-pollution standards. A year later, Congress passed the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act that restricted the use of lead-based paint in homes and on cribs and toys. The EPA began testing the fuel economy of vehicles to keep consumers informed about the gas mileage of their vehicles. In 1972, the EPA banned the widely-used, incredibly harmful pesticide DDT. That same year, the Clean Water Act was passed in order to clean up waterways like the Cuyahoga River and prevent further pollution.
While the EPA was doing all of this, a new environmental catastrophe was observed: the ozone layer was becoming depleted. This was primarily caused by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), a human-produced gas used in aerosol products; 511 million pounds of CFCs were released from aerosols in 1973. In response, the EPA implemented a ban on CFCs, prohibiting their use in most aerosol products. When the problem persisted, forty-six countries signed on to the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty that aimed to regulate the use of CFCs and other ozone-depleting chemicals. The use of these chemicals has dropped significantly due to the treaty; by 2005, the use of chemicals controlled by the agreement had fallen by 90-95%.
1973 was also the year of the OPEC oil embargo. Regulating oil and gas became more of a concern after that. Transportation control measures were passed, which included exclusive bus lanes, controls on gas handling operations, and mass transit incentives. When the dangers of leaded gasoline were confirmed, the EPA issued regulations in order to phase it out. After the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, which the EPA played a large role in cleaning up, Congress passed the Pollution Prevention Act. The first regulations on petroleum refineries were introduced in 1995, cutting emissions by 53,000 tons and benefitting the 4.5 million Americans who lived near the refineries.
The possibility that greenhouse gas emissions would cause the planet's climate to change has been theorized for more than a hundred years, but it wasn't until 1988 that global warming became a real concern. The summer of 1988 was the hottest summer on record, with widespread drought and wildfires across the United States. NASA scientist James Hansen delivered testimony to Congress that year, saying he was 99% sure that global warming was happening. Study after study was released, showing that the Earth was warming due to greenhouse gases and that the effects would be devastating.
In response, the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997 and signed by 41 countries. President Clinton signed it, pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2% below 1990 levels by 2012. Then, shortly after taking office, President Bush announced that the United States would not implement the Kyoto Protocol. The head of the EPA at the time, Christine Todd Whitman, described the move as "the equivalent to 'flipping the bird,' frankly, to the rest of the world." Under President Bush, climate change was politicized and data showing that global warming was accelerating was swept under the rug. During this time, the EPA did not accomplish a great deal and the environment suffered.
When President Obama took office, climate change became a real priority. The EPA set the nation's first greenhouse gas emissions for cars and gave California permission to set its own auto emission standards. Similar standards were also set for trucks and buses. Carbon pollution standards for new power plants were proposed. Guidelines to cut carbon pollution from existing power plants were also proposed. In 2016, the Paris Climate Accord was unveiled; 195 nations pledged to set targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in order to prevent a global temperature rise of 2 degrees Celsius.
Then, Donald Trump got elected. President Trump, who has called climate change a Chinese hoax, withdrew from the Paris Climate Accord. President Trump also appointed Scott Pruitt, a self-described "leading advocate against the EPA's activist agenda," to head the EPA. Under Pruitt, the EPA proposed a repeal of the Clean Power Plan that the agency had implemented under Obama. When Pruitt resigned due to a staggering list of scandals, Andrew Wheeler stepped in to take his place. Before working for the EPA, Wheeler was a lobbyist for Murray Energy Corporation, one of the largest coal companies in the U.S., and recently stated that climate change is "not his top priority."
The effects of climate change are already being felt. The oceans are more acidic and have lower levels of oxygen. Insects are disappearing. Storms are growing stronger and wildfires are getting larger. A recent report from the United Nations warned that something must be done within the next welve years if global warming is to be kept at a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius. If that goal is not met, the damage will be cataclysmic. Unless the EPA, the government, and nations around the world take real action to curb greenhouse gas emissions, humanity may be brought to the brink of extinction.
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