Documerica captured our lives and environmental conditions, shortly after EPA’s creation just 40 years ago. A window to our past, they remain as an opportunity for reflection. State of the Environment, the modern replica, is your chance to mark the change.
A global call is out for photos of our lives and our environment today, with a challenge to match Documerica scenes. Photos accepted through 2013.
Join In! Learn how to share photos through Flickr
Catch the EPA Traveling Exhibit
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Match Me If You Can: ’70s Scenes of Ohio
Documerica Returns is on display through November 4 at Chicago’s Green Exchange. For the next few weeks, enjoy highlighted scenes of our past from the Great Lakes Region, take on the challenge if you live nearby.
Photos taken from the same vantage point now, could earn you a spot at the 2013 National Archives Exhibit in D.C. Check out the competition.
Not from Ohio? Find photos near you with the simple steps below. Entries recieved by December 31, 2012 through State of the Environment on Flickr will be in the running. Please include a link to the Documerica image(s) you matched.
DOCUMERICA: Fountain Square in Downtown Cincinnati Is a Public Square That Works for the City and Its People in a Myriad of Ways: School Class Takes a Lunch Break 05/1973 by Tom Hubbard.
DOCUMERICA: Looking North Along Vine Street from the Overhead Walkway at Fountain Square 08/1973 by Tom Hubbard.
DOCUMERICA: Fountain Square During a Noon Concert by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Du Bois Tower at Rear. Fifth Street on Right Vine Street on Left in Foreground 09/1973 by Tom Hubbard.
DOCUMERICA: View of Strip Mined Land and Tipple from a Graveyard Off Route 100, near Morristown, Ohio, and Steubenville. 10/1973 by Erik Calonius.
DOCUMERICA: This House Off Route 250, Has Had Its Windows and Doors Knocked Out, Legally Qualifying It as Derelict. Now the Coal Company Is Stripping Around It. 10/1973 by Erik Calonius.
DOCUMERICA: Although This Land Was Stripped Twenty Years Ago, the Scars Remain, Off Route 9. 10/1973 by Erik Calonius.
Browse the full Documerica collection to find photos that were taken closer to you. All ‘Then and Now’ entries will be considered for the larger Washington D.C. exhibit planned for March 8 – September 8, 2013.
When you follow that link above or by clicking this image below, you’ll come to a search page like this. Simply type in your town or state to see images of the past. Enjoy, have fun, and we look forward to your contributions to this historic project!
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Celebrate Clean Water!
Our waterways no longer catch on fire. The idea that industrial waste was so thick it appeared you could walk across rivers – inconceivable.
Back then even when the hazards were blazing before our eyes, it took decades to collectively realize and act that our rivers were not dumping grounds. Wouldn’t it be nice to share what has been accomplished with those who felt helpless years ago?
Celebrating the Clean Water Act. Photo Credits: City Pump Station Discharges Sewage into the Cuyahoga River, July, 1973 photo by Frank J. Aleksandrowicz for Documerica; Cuyahoga River Fire, 1952 Cleveland Press Collection; September 2012, Pete Cassell for State of the Environment.
Forty years of the Clean Water Act has provided us with success stories that we can see, but also feel. In many places and hopefully near you; fishing, swimming, and paddling is possible again.
We’re in a better place than the bystanders watching the Cuyahoga River blaze in 1952, but we still have to want our water to be clean. Challenges await our action. Nutrient pollution is increasingly harming local streams to coastal waters. New pollutants are making their way from our wastewater and runoff into our environment and back into our bodies. There is still work to do, but it’s anything but hopeless.
Join the celebrations, join us as we look to our future.
Three Way Cool Ways to Celebrate
Check out milestones, inspiration as the Clean Water Act turns 40!
New app! Check up on your local waterway
Act Simply for a Difference
Such as, be as mindful about what goes down your drain as with what comes out the faucet. Pledge easy steps, watch your part of the world get a bit greener.
What are our water challenges today? Photo credits: June, 1973 Foam on the Polluted Androscoggin River, Seen from the North Bridge at Lewiston, Textile Center and Second Largest City in the State by Charles Steinhacker for Documerica.'Now' State of the Environment Photo, October, 2012 by Munroe Graham.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Documerica Debuts at Chicago’s Green Exchange
Beginning today and through November 5, EPA’s Documerica Returns exhibit will be on display at the Green Exchange located at 2545 W. Diversey, Chicago, IL.
Open weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Green Exchange is the country’s largest sustainable business community committed to environmental sustainability, profit and positive social impact.
To browse Documerica images from the area during the 1970s and to add your photos to State of the Environment follow this quick guide.
In the Lincoln Park playground, largest park in the city. March, 1973 by Paul Sequeira for Documerica.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
A World That We Want
Further back than we can comprehend, forces were at hand creating every particle that makes up our bodies. Those same forces were creating each element that sustains us. Somewhere along the line, conditions were perfect. For the elements of our planet and the particles of our cells came together, giving us a chance for life on Earth.
How easily we forget this opportunity. How quickly we can lose sight of this delicate balance we now play a part in. Sometimes, it takes gazing light years away to be reminded.
As described in today’s Wall Street Journal, a planet the size of Earth was recently found “circling a star right next door—25 trillion miles away. But the Earthlike planet is so hot its surface may be like molten lava. Life cannot survive the 2,200 degree heat of the planet, so close to its star that it circles every few days.
The astronomers who found it say it is likely there are other planets … a little farther away where it may be cool enough for water and life. And those planets might fit the not-too-hot, not-too-cold description sometimes called the Goldilocks Zone.”
We live in this Goldilocks Zone. Our water can be fresh and pure to support our bodies’ needs; our oceans just the right acidity to support marine life; the air we breathe just the right combination of nitrogen, oxygen, and other gases; our soils can contain just the right amount of minerals and nutrients to grow our food.
Every day, we make choices that affect this balance. Our individual choices collectively create the world we live in.
Travel choices of our past through Documerica. Share sustainability as you see it, with State of the Environment.
Central expressway leading south into Dallas. Photo by Bob Smith for Documerica, May, 1972
Abandoned automobiles and other debris clutter an acid water and oil filled five acre pond. It was cleaned up under EPA supervision to prevent possible contamination of Great Salt Lake and a wildlife refuge nearby. Photo by Bruce McAllister for Documerica, April, 1974.
Gabriel Antor, left, and Nickolas Seeger, right, sit and wait for a tree to be planted at the Langley Air Force Base, Va., child development center, April 25, 2012. The tree, which could live hundreds of years if properly cared for, was planted in honor of National Arbor Day. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jarad A. Denton/Released.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Bugis Boat Builders, Today’s Photo!
“Bugis Boat Builders” August 10, 2012, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia by Hazy Jenius on Flickr.
Congratulations to Jennifer Hayes, ‘hazy jenius’ on Flickr, for her featured photo! A girl plays alongside a boat construction site. From the photographer, “The Bugis people are famous for their boat building skills. There are always at least 5 big boats on the share in different stages of building.” August 10, 2012, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.
Submit your view of life and our environment today at www.flickr.com/groups/ourenvironment
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
A Run of the Numbers
Documerica is a time capsule that contains over 15,000 moments in our lives and environment in the 1970s. Photographs in the final collection were selected were based on quality and variety of content, but especially for the stories they told.
Launched on Earth Day of 2011, State of the Environment, the modern-child, has grown with over 2,300 photos from around the world. These images submitted by 778 of you, are telling the stories of today.
To view scenes of environmental change, check out the latest set we’ve created on Flickr of Then and Now entries to date.
Discover Documerica near you to submit your best match — stand in the footsteps of Documerica’s best forty years ago. The top twenty Then & Now scenes will display as part of Searching for the Seventies: EPA’s Documerica Project at the U.S. National Archives gallery in Washington D.C. from March to September of 2013.
State of the Environment will remain open for submissions through the end of 2013. We want your view to be part of the picture. What are you waiting for?
Our World, Our Environment as You See It
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Our Land-shapes
When our paved ways meet the earth, or when nature’s hand has meandered through millennia, the results just may stop you in your tracks.
In your travels this coming week, by flight or foot, capture the shapes of our ‘scapes. What could your scene say about our quality of life, or the State of our Environment?
DOCUMERICA: Philadelphia Junior High School Football Team Plays On Field Surrounded By Freeways. Municipal Stadium In Left Background, August 1973.
Submit your view of our world, our environment today at www.flickr.com/groups/ourenvironment
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Lewiston-Auburn, Maine: Then and Now
Congratulations to Bates College student Munroe Graham for her ‘Then and Now’ contributions to State of the Environment! Compare her bird’s eye view of the Androscoggin River this past August, to the June 1973 photograph by Charles Steinhacker for Documerica.
Munroe’s photos will be in contention for a spot in the March – September, 2013 National Archives Exhibit Searching for the Seventies: EPA’s Documerica Project.
Discover Documerica To match Documerica photos near you for a chance to be on display in Washington D.C.
Lewiston-Auburn, Maine August 19, 2012 by Munroe Graham compare to June, 1973 image by Charles Steinhacker for Documerica.
The Androscoggin River Flows between Lewiston (Eastern Shore) and Auburn (Western Shore). Lewiston Is the States Foremost Textile Center 06/1973 by Charles Steinhacker
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Today’s Photo: Sahel Food Crisis
Thank you to Oxfam International for their efforts to reach hundreds of thousands displaced by conflict in Mali and for bringing this story to international light.
“The entrenchment of armed groups and the spread of instability has led to increased humanitarian suffering across the region. The human impact is evident in the 170,000 people displaced within Mali and 250,000 displaced across the region, as well as in the vulnerable communities struggling to host them.” -Oxfam International.
In Burkina Faso, Oxfam aims to reach nearly 300,000 people, including over 75,000 refugees, with water, public health assistance, animal health and food programs and more. Follow Oxfam’s response to the Sahel food crisis.
Mentao Nord camp in Burkina Faso September 21, 2012, by Pablo Tosco, Oxfam International.
Submit your view of our world, our environment today at www.flickr.com/groups/ourenvironment
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Signs of the Season
Around the world seasons are changing. In some places we may see fruitful bounties, while in others the signs may be more discreet, stunning, or even challenging for humans and wildlife to overcome.
Photographs are an opportunity to learn. They are a chance to see other places we may not otherwise experience. Share a photograph near you, take a trip through State of the Environment.
Picking the perfect pumpkin by Amused_Observer on Flickr, September 28, 2012 San Diego, California
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
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