Between 1972 and 1977, the newly formed Environmental Protection Agency in the US sent out freelance photographers to capture the times for future generations. At the forefront of the project called Documerica was to capture on film the environmental impact human beings were having on the earth, specifically in the US. At the time, environmentalism was a fledgling movement, Greenpeace was formed in 1971 and Earth Day was established in 1970. The EPA was part of a drive to bring environmental issues to a governmental level, and although their abilities have been curbed by legislation that favors the corporations with an interest in poisoning us, they have been effective in bringing public awareness to environmental issues, at least for people who don’t believe God made the earth for us to maim, rape and destroy. The images they captured in the 70s are startling, but as someone who often sees the smog on my horizon, not that different from today. Most of the time, they just happen out of sight now, or in other countries. The US government may have become more adept at hiding the environmental travesties it allows and legislates for, but it has not stopped them.
Images Via Retronaut
New Comments