ABSTRACT
Gaylord Nelson, a former senator from Wisconsin, originated Earth Day, the first one being held in 1970.1 This event and others contributed to the rise of the environmental movement in the United States. The United States Congress responded to this movement by enacting the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act, as well as other laws. What has happened since then? One poll conducted in the United States in 1994 found that 23% of the respondents considered themselves to be active environmentalists, and 56% were sympathetic to the environmental cause.2 More than half felt that environmental laws had not gone far enough, with only 16% feeling that the laws had gone too far. Environmental groups were considered favorably by 74% of the respondents.
