By the late 1960s, the American landscape was ravaged by decades of unchecked land development, blighted by urban decay in the big cities, and plagued by seemingly unstoppable air, noise, and water pollution.
In November 1971, the newly created Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a monumental photodocumentary project to “photographically document subjects of environmental concern” in the United States. The collection, now at the National Archives, resulted in a collection of more than 20,000 photographs by its conclusion in 1978.
With support from the first EPA administrator, William Ruckelshaus, project director Gifford D. Hampshire contracted well-known photographers to work for the EPA on the project. Estimates of the number involved range between 70 and 120, and they were organized geographically, with each photographer working in a particular area in which they were already active.
Subjects photographed include urban cityscapes, small towns, rural areas, beaches and mountains. They show people going about their everyday lives as well as working in farms; waterfronts; mining and logging, industry and heavy industry. Images document junk yards, highways, Amtrak trains, air and water pollution; and environmental protection and pollution control measures.
The earliest assignments were closely aligned to the EPA’s proposed areas of concern: air and water pollution, management of solid waste, radiation and pesticides, and noise abatement. However, photographers had considerable creative freedom about what they shot. Among the areas depicted are national parks and forests, including environmentally sensitive areas that were under development or considered for government protection.
Water cooling towers of the John Amos Power Plant loom over a home located across the Kanawha River, near Poca, West Virginia, August 1973. (Harry Schaefer) |
One of four bicyclists holds her ears against the roar of the jet taking off from National Airport in Washington, District of Columbia, May 1973. (John Neubauer) |
Clark Avenue and Clark Avenue bridge, looking east from West 13th Street, obscured by industrial smoke, in Cleveland, Ohio, July 1973. (Frank J. Aleksandrowicz) |
Balloon logging in the Culp Creek drainage area of Oregon, near Eugene. |
A mountain of damaged oil drums lies in a heap in an Exxon refinery near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, December 1972. (John Messina) |
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