When rivers caught fire and bald eagles were poisoned: why we need the Environmental Protection Agency

President Trump’s choice for director of the EPA has raised concerns for the environmentally-minded among us. And those concerns are not without warrant, but whatever the state of the EPA at this point — and that’s not to say reform isn’t warranted — we’d do well to remember the circumstances that led to its creation. This article from The Verge provides a stark reminder of where we were as a country not that long ago.

A smoggy view from the George Washington Bridge in 1973.Photo by Chester Higgins / US National Archives