Origin Stories: EPA

Before the EPA existed, rivers caught fire. Smog choked cities. Factories dumped toxins into streams without consequence. There were no national standards for air or water—and no federal agency to enforce them.

That began to change in 1970, when years of public outcry, protests, and environmental disasters pushed President Richard Nixon to create the Environmental Protection Agency. It was a rare moment of bipartisan agreement: Americans, regardless of party, were tired of breathing poison and watching their landscapes die.

But the real push came from the people—from scientists, students, and mothers. Women like Rachel Carson, whose 1962 book Silent Spring warned of pesticide dangers, sparked a movement that refused to be silenced.

The EPA was born to protect human health and the environment—to clean up pollution, enforce standards, and stop industries from treating Earth like a dumping ground.

Since then, the EPA has led efforts to ban lead in gasoline, regulate greenhouse gases, and hold corporations accountable for environmental disasters. It has saved lives. And it has been under attack ever since.

Today, its power is being chipped away. Regulations are being rolled back. Climate denial is back in the headlines. But so is resistance.

Because clean air and water shouldn’t be political. They’re a right. And the EPA’s founding reminds us: when people speak up, the government has to listen.

Let’s keep raising our voices—for our health, our planet, and future generations. 🌎