Clean Air And Water Act Dbq Essay

The Industrial Revolution, which was a global shift in the use of more methodical manufacturing processes, brought prosperity to the nation in the sense of economic success and technological advances. However, due to the widespread use of industrial machinery, many forms of pollution had started to affect the welfare of the American environment. The heavy machinery adapted in the period of the Industrial Revolution forced excessive amounts of air and water pollution, due to the exponential increase in the use of fossil fuels. An overuse of a process called coal burning additionally allowed for the development of these types of pollution, depleting the welfare of the environment to a drastic extent. Due to the seemingly evident effects that

The Government published the Clean Air and Water Acts under President Richard Nixon’s administration. The Clean Air Act, in short, endorsed the creation of thorough national and state rules to control emissions from both fixed and mobile sources (Document 2). Signed by Nixon in 1970, the main goal of this act was to ensure that air quality would be healthy and sustainable throughout the United States to furthermore eradicate any immediate sense of pollution and climate change. Just two short years later, Nixon appealed the Clean Water Act of 1972 (Document 4). In summary, this act created the fundamental framework for managing surface water quality quotas and pollution secretion into national water. By signing this act, Nixon ensured that millions of pollutants would be banished from national waters, de-polluting the bodies of water that compose our nation. On a less presidential scale, many other societal figures molded the means of environmental protection through their advocacy. For instance, globally-acclaimed news platform ‘The

Following the Clean Air Act of 1970, air pollution had significantly decreased in statistical levels, even corroborating the fact that Americans experience longer and healthier lives, with better visibility due to diminished smog and fog levels. On a broader note, even crops and farm animals saw a benefit in this Act, with cleaner and fresher air to use in many processes, like respiration and photosynthesis. In response to the Clean Water Act of 1972, the loss of wetlands have significantly decreased, and the bodies of water used for leisurely activities, such as fishing and swimming, have seen an increase. More impactfully, billions of pollutants have been eradicated from national waters, purifying and cleansing it for public use. Furthermore, public advocacy efforts such as the protests seen in the New York Times post in Document 3, and the speech given by Hansen in Document 5, have set the stage for global climate change activism. Popular national climate change activists such as Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio have used the statements made by Hansen to further mimic the protests and efforts made by the civilians depicted in Document 3 to allow all generations to fully fathom the negative effects that pollution and climate change has on