By Daniel Smith It was Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin who initiated Earth Day in 1970, the first national effort to focus on environmental issues. Later that year the Environmental Protection Agency was formed, to be followed by the Clean Air Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act; and the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and other first-of-a-kind measures. Some of those and subsequent measures were later weakened by national administrations, most notably the most recent, that of Donald Trump. Still under the pandemic, Earth Day’s 51st milestone ceremonies this year are likely to be subdued, as they were for ...
