Though the Clean Air Act 1956 in response to London's Great Smog of 1952 was a historical step forward, and the 1955 Air Pollution Control Act was the first U.S. federal legislation that pertained to air pollution, the 1960s marked the beginning of modern environmental policy making. The stage had been set for change by the publication of Rachel Carson's New York Times bestseller Silent Spring in 1962 and strengthened the Environmental movement. Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, became famous for his environmental work. Administrator Ruckelshaus was confirmed by the Senate on December 2, 1970, which is the traditional date used as the birth of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Five months earlier, in July 1970, President Nixon had signed Reorganization Plan No. 3 calling for the establishment of EPA. At the time, Environmental Policy was a bipartisan issue and the efforts of the United States of America helped spark countries around the world to create environmental policies. During this period, legislation was passed to regulate pollutants that go into the air, water tables, and solid waste disposal. President Nixon signed the Clean Air Act in 1970 which set the US as one of the world leaders in environmental conservation. The world's first minister of the environment was the British Politician Peter Walker from the Conservative Party in 1970. The German "Benzinbleigesetz" reduced Tetraethyllead since 1972.