They did not want to live in such a polluted country. Within five years, Congress passed some of the toughest environmental laws in the world. Those laws have been successful. Air and water in the U.S. are cleaner and some endangered species are making a comeback. But the laws gave rise to a backlash against the environmental movement.
Critics say that businesses and individuals are paying too high a price.
Logging, mining, oil, and cattle industries say that laws protecting endangered species cost them too much money, so workers lose jobs. The backlash against environmental laws can be seen in today's Congress. Many Republican lawmakers want to cut funding for the EPA and change environmental laws. Everybody wants to save the environment. Even the big companies that environmentalists like to hold up as wicked polluters want clean air and water.