For several decades, we have periodically seen concern
expressed about our environment and energy usage. The supply and cost of oil,
the “hole” in the ozone layer, and various forms of pollution have at times
also caught the attention of legislators and government officials who shape our
laws. The U.S. Department of the Interior was created in 1949, and the first
federal clean air act was enacted in 1955. In 1970, President Nixon formed the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the first celebration of Earth Day
was April 22, 1970.
