• soldiers came back from WWII--got married and had kids, wanted stability
• racism--people wanted to live in segregated areas (redlining)
• automobile becomes widespread
• federal government programs to help people get mortgages
  

• quality of life issues
• pollution control
• wariness toward nuclear power
• critique of consumerism
• insistence on preservation of natural places

development of environmental ideas

• conservation movement starting around 1900, focused on wise use of resources
• in the 1960s shift to focus on preserving nature (for its own sake, not just for human use), eg. preserving wilderness
• in the 1970s environment became a concern of the majority of the people and so government took action
  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz_-KNNl-no

Water:

suburbs mean that systems need to be expanded
water use increased--dishwashers, watering lawns...
shortage of water in some areas

threats from bacteria are taken care of, more concern about chemicals
City of Clemson annual Water Quality Report

Fluoridation

• Fluoride was added to most water systems to reduce tooth decay, starting in the 1950s
• significant opposition due to health fears
• classic example of government action for the public good without individual choice
• it did reduce tooth decay
• a significant group of people is still concerned about health effects
  

Should federal or state government regulate water pollution?

• Water Quality Act of 1965
• the biggest change came after 1970

Sewage:
keeping up with suburban growth
older systems were in poor shape
where treatment plants already existed, they had problems with synthetic detergents