A Little Perspective
It began in 1970, on April 22nd, to be precise. It was the first Earth Day here in the United States and while it took the country by storm, kick-starting an environmental movement that is with us to this day, it also took the American political establishment by surprise. In fact, during the 1968 presidential race between Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey, the environment was little more than a campaign throw-away. John C. Whitaker was there and as Nixon's Cabinet Secretary (1969); associate director of the White House Domestic Council for environment, energy, and natural resources policy (1969-1972); and Undersecretary of the Department of the Interior (1973-1975), he saw it all. In an article for the July/August 1988 edition of the EPA Journal, Whitaker wrote:
When President Nixon and his staff walked into the White House on January 20, 1969, we were totally unprepared for the tidal wave of public opinion in favor of c...
By Charles M Cooper ยท April 22 2008
environment, history, earth day, how to
