"Our national government today is not structured to make a coordinated attack on the pollutants which debase the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the land that grows our food. Indeed, the present governmental structure for dealing with environmental pollution often defies effective and concerted action. Despite its complexity, for pollution control purposes the environment must be perceived as a single, interrelated system. Present assignments of departmental responsibiliti reflect this interrelatedness.A far more effective approach to pollution control would:Identify pollutants.Trace them through the entire ecological chain, observing and recording changes in form as they occur.Determine the tot of man and his environment.Examine interactions among forms of pollution.Identify where in the ecological chain interdiction would be most appropriate."

 

Richard M. Nixon

 

R

Source: Message to Congress to Establish the EPA (APP#215) , Jul 9, 1970