Have you ever wondered...

at what point pollution became a national concern?  Earth day has already surpassed its 40th anniversary, but when was the topic introduced?  When were checks put on manufacturing corporations to reduce their impact on the surrounding area?  The Polluters:  The making of our chemically altered environment by Benjamin Ross & Steven Amter explores the history of pollution in America.  Water pollution was an area of congressional concern since 1890 and smoke from copper smelting spurred President Theodore Roosevelt to pursue federal regulation of factory emissions in 1907.  The polluters traces the rise of American chemical plants and their toxic by-products invading the groundwater, air and human population.  The major chemical corporations, Dupont and Dow among them, gained political influence and amassed profits and this in turn shaped the regulations that governed them.  The polluters contains the reasons for and actions of regulation of pollutants that should be of interest to all Americans, especially those focused on environmental awareness and conservancy.
The toxic 100 list