Summary: In this activity, students will analyze photographs taken as part of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) DOCUMERICA project. They will identify the environmental issues facing the United States in the early 1970s, and speculate what legislation and regulations Congress and the EPA would have passed and enforced based on the state of the environment as documented in the photos.
Overarching questions:
- CIVICS: How well does the government balance individual rights and the common good, including the need to maintain order, safety and a healthy environment, during this time period.
- ECONOMICS: What is the proper role of government in the economy? (Especially with regard to economic crises, national defense/security, health and safety of the people, and economic development and practices.)
NJ Student Learning Standards for Social Studies:
- 6.1.12.GeoHE.14.a: Evaluate the impact of individual, business, and government decisions and actions on the environment and climate change and assess the efficacy of government policies and agencies in New Jersey and the United States in addressing these decisions.
Link to Lesson: Birth of the Environmental Protection Agency