ms moy The image that inspired the environmental movement in 1969 Major US Air Pollution Episodes of Historic Significance US air quality degraded with the beginning of the industrial revolution ID: 718899
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Slide1
A few environmental disasters in the U.S. that led to new federal and state laws to control pollution: 1950-1980
ms.
moySlide2
The image that inspired the environmental movement in 1969Slide3Slide4
Major U.S. Air Pollution Episodes of Historic SignificanceU.S. air quality degraded with the beginning of the industrial revolution Coal burning in Central and Midwest U.S. 1948 Donora, PA in the Monongahela River Valley Prompted Air Pollution Control Act of 1955Ignored automobiles1960s - NYC had several severe smog episodes
1950s onward – LA had many smog alerts from increase in industry and motor vehicle use
Led to passage of
Clean Air Act of 1970
updated 1977 & 1990 Slide5
Deadly Inversion in Donora, Pennsylvania in 1948Twenty people died and approximately 7,000 or 50% of the population, experienced acute illness during the week of Oct. 25, 1948 when temperature inversion and air stagnation occurred. Slide6
Hydrogen fluoride and sulfur dioxide emissions from U.S. Steel's Donora Zinc Works and its American Steel & Wire plant were frequent occurrences in Donora.
What made the 1948 event more severe was a
temperature inversion
, a situation in which warmer air aloft traps pollution in a layer of colder air near the surface. The pollutants in the air mixed with fog to form a thick, yellowish, acid smog that hung over Donora for five days.
Slide7Slide8
U.S. Air Pollution ExamplesSmog in San Gabriel Valley, 1972 (Photo: EPA) and smog in New York City, 1963 (Photo: AP)Slide9
Air Pollution in Grand CanyonSlide10
ChicagoSlide11
The Cuyahoga River FiresCuyahoga River is located in the city of Cleveland, OhioBecause of the factories and the natural waste from coal, the river began to get pollutedAs more and more people began to move to Cleveland, the Cuyahoga became their dump.Trash, waste, and even raw sewage went into the water. However, the main pollutant was oil from the factories.There was no one there to regulate what people were throwing into the river.
The Cuyahoga was eventually described as a “flowing dump.”Slide12
The first documented time the River caught fire was in 1936, when a spark from a blowtorch ignited it.This would not be the last fire for the river.Slide13Slide14Slide15
The 1952 FireNo one is sure exactly what started the blaze. Some think it was started by someone throwing a lit cigarette into the water and others think it was started by sparks from a passing train.This was the most costly blaze for Cleveland, causing nearly $1.5 million in damages, mostly to rail lines held above the water.Even with statewide coverage of the event, there was not much outrage over the 1952 fire. The reasons for this are:Environmentalism was taking a back seat to consumerism
Environmentalism was taking a back seat to global affairsSlide16
It was not until June of 1969 that the River would catch on fire again.However, this time the world would eventually take notice.Below is the only picture taken of that fire.Slide17
Initial public reaction and then Time magazineEven though a river was so polluted that it caught fire, many people took a while to notice.The picture only ran in two papers the next day.It was not until a month later, when Time Magazine ran an article, that the world was shown the picture of the fire.Slide18
Members of Congress respond with new legislation to regulate water pollutionPerhaps the most important thing the 1969 fire provided was a crystal clear example that the state of the environment was in disrepair.This led directly to the creation of the Clean Water Act: Regulates the amounts and types of discharges into water.Made it illegal to dump toxins into water.
Funded the construction of sewage treatment plants.
Passed in 1972 with major changes in 1981 and 1987Slide19Slide20
The Santa Barbara oil spill occurred in January and February 1969 in the Santa Barbara Channel, near the city of Santa Barbara in Southern California. It was the largest oil spill in United States waters
at the time, and now ranks third after the 2010
Deepwater Horizon
and 1989
Exxon Valdez
spills. Slide21
The public outrage engendered by the spill, which received prominent media coverage in the U.S.resulted in numerous pieces of environmental legislation within the next several years, legislation that forms the legal and regulatory framework for the modern environmental movement in the U.S.Slide22
Use of booms to contain oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara Slide23
Acid Rain in the NortheastSlide24Slide25Slide26
Androscoggin RiverLewiston, MaineSlide27
Typical drainpipe and wastes dumped into rivers in the U.S.Slide28
Kansas City, Missouri in the 1970sSlide29
Nuclear Power PlantsSlide30
Anti-nuclear protests – Clamshell AllianceSlide31Slide32Slide33Slide34Slide35
Hudson River, New York, 1970sSlide36
Hudson River Pollution, 1970Slide37Slide38
Earth First: Eco-Defense ApproachSlide39Slide40Slide41Slide42Slide43Slide44
Lake Erie, 1970sSlide45
Three Mile IslandHarrisburg, Pennsylvania