Today, most people in the U.S. can depend on their taps for clean water. They can walk outside and take deep lungfuls of fresh air. But before the 1970s, this was far from the case. Our air and rivers were choked with pollution; corporations used our shared environment as dumping grounds for toxic waste. 

This only improved when vast swaths of the country began to understand these dangers and came together to demand change. On the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, more than 20 million protestors demonstrated nationwide. The environmental movement pushed Congress to pass dozens of life-saving laws. 

But now, as we approach Earth Day this year, these laws are under attack from the Musk-Trump administration. If they get their way, we could return to the dark days when our rivers caught fire from toxic pollution. To make matters worse, Musk and Trump will kneecap our ability to protect against new threats.

It’s more important than ever to strengthen the environmental movement and defend our shared resources. We’re not going back.

The Dark Days Before the First Earth Day

Prior to the 1970s, corporations had even more license to ruin our environment for profit. Toxic pollution made lakes and rivers unswimmable and undrinkable. Fish died en masse, piling up and rotting on shores. Smog blanketed entire cities; children ran, played, and coughed amid the hazes.

During the 1960s, the movements for Civil Rights and against the Vietnam War were galvanizing for many activists and the general public. There was a sense of hope and possibility — that everyday people could change the world. Civil Rights activists were already pointing to environmental racism that made Black communities sicker from pollution and other environmental burdens.

At the same time, more people were starting to understand the toll industries were taking on the environment. The Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire for what may have been the dozenth time, spurring national outcry. Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring revealed the harms of toxic pesticides to humans and animals. 

The American public had had enough. On the first Earth Day, 20 million people flooded the streets — a full 10% of the population. (For perspective, one researcher estimates that social movements need to engage just 3.5% of the population to bring major change.)

This movement, which continued beyond the first Earth Day, led to the passing of nearly two dozen environmental laws that have saved countless lives. 

Major Environmental Laws Bring Safe Water, Clean Air, and More

By December 1970, Congress had created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This was a huge stride for vital research and regulations that keep us and our environment safe. The agency enforces many of the landmark environmental laws passed in that era. 

That includes the Clean Air Act of 1970, which set pollutant limits and required industrial facilities to use the best-available technology to prevent pollution. Thanks to the Clean Air Act, the U.S. has massively reduced pollutants that worsen asthma and can lead to heart attacks. In 2020 alone, the amended law prevented an estimated 230,000 early deaths and more than 120,000 emergency room visits.

In 1972, Congress also passed the Clean Water Act, which set the ambitious goal of entirely eliminating water pollution. Before, we had no meaningful limits on what industry could dump into waterways. The Clean Water Act established standards, a permitting system to rein in polluters, and funding for water and wastewater infrastructure. Now, it diverts 700 billion pounds of pollutants from entering U.S. waterways each year.

These laws held polluters accountable. They aimed for what we needed, not just what politicians or the industry thought was politically or technologically possible.

Crucially, in 1970, Congress passed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), our landmark environmental law. Under NEPA, when the federal government takes significant action — like permitting a new source of pollution or a highway — it has to look at the environmental impacts of that action. 

It also requires agencies to consider alternatives that will have less environmental harm. And, vitally, it requires opportunities for public input. After decades of big industry running roughshod over frontline communities, NEPA ensured that those most affected by a potentially harmful project have a say in its approval. 

The Trump Administration Threatens to Undo Progress

While these environmental laws pushed enormous strides, we still have a long way to go to ensure everyone has a healthy environment. Factory farms release billions of pounds of waste each year, contaminating our waterways. Petrochemical plants send cancer-causing pollution into the air of majority-Black neighborhoods in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” and elsewhere. 

The Musk-Trump administration is threatening past and future progress. In less than 100 days, it has issued an avalanche of deregulatory actions. Worse, it’s moving to slash protections as fast as possible — likely illegally — while bucking public oversight. 

In March, the Trump EPA announced 31 anti-pollution rules for the chopping block, including those to limit toxic air pollutants and protect rivers and streams. The Guardian estimates just 11 of these rules would save almost 200,000 lives over the next 25 years. Those lives are on the line if the rollbacks go through.

Additionally, the administration has incited mass chaos in government reviews by taking authority away from the Council on Environmental Quality, which issues NEPA regulations. This will give polluters even greater power to ram through their projects without public oversight.

And the Musk-Trump administration is threatening the EPA itself with massive cuts to staff and funding. This will devastate the agency’s ability to enforce protections and do vital research in service of new ones. In fact, the administration moved to completely eliminate the EPA’s research and development arm. 

This is a dangerous development, making it much more difficult to study, let alone safeguard us from dangerous contaminants like PFAS forever chemicals and microplastics. Absent a strong EPA and strong protections, these threats will grow and more people will suffer the consequences.

This Earth Day, Help Us Strengthen the Environmental Movement Against Musk-Trump

Thanks to our bedrock environmental laws, Americans live longer and healthier lives. More people can breathe easily; swim, fish, and play safely; and depend on their tap for clean water. These laws changed the expectations for life in the United States; a healthy environment is now a given for many.

But — though it should be — a healthy environment was not a given. Widespread public sentiment and pressure pushed the leaders of the day to take bold action. Now, Musk, Trump, and their allies are working to drag us backward and put thousands of lives on the line.

The environmental laws of the 1970s came about because of demands for change that reached all corners of society. To fight Musk and Trump, we need a similar broad-based movement.

That’s where groups like Food & Water Watch come in. With 20 years of experience, we educate people, organize, and mobilize with them to fight for our shared resources. We take on corporate polluters and hold our leaders accountable to defending our health and environment. 

With our allies, members, and volunteers, we’re defending important programs and protections through the courts. We’re demanding our elected officials stand up for their constituents against the Musk-Trump agenda. We’re winning state and local protections for our food, water, and climate. And we’re exposing the dangers of this administration, empowering people with the knowledge they need to take action.

This Earth Day, we’re reminded of the devastation of the past and the bright possibilities for progress, if we work toward it together. We’re standing up to Musk and Trump and saying, resolutely, “We’re not going back!” With you, we can build the environmental movement this moment demands, protect our shared resources, and create a livable future for all.