The US used to be really dirty – environmental cleanup laws have made a huge difference
- Written by James Salzman, Professor of Environmental Law, Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, University of California, Santa Barbara; University of California, Los Angeles
Growing up in the 1970s, I took for granted the trash piles along the highway, tires washed up on beaches, and smog fouling city air. The famed “Crying Indian” commercial of 1971 became a symbol of widespread environmental damage across the United States.
That’s why the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, energized the nation. In...
