Published February 1970 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd Society Threatened by Pollution The pollution of our water, land, and air has grown at such a rapid pace over the past 15 years it now poses a serious threat to our future existence. Water pollution, for instance, has reached such massive proportions that ecologists -- scientists concerned with the study of man's relationship to his environment -claim that Lake Erie is "dead". And they predict that, at the current rate of pollution, a similar fate awaits Lake Michigan within nine years. In fact, major rivers in at least two American cities are so full of industrial and consumer waste disposal that they are now considered fire hazards. The air we breathe is no less dirty than the water we drink. Tons of smoke and fumes are sent billowing into our sky each day, resulting in a smog that has caused asthma, emphysema, and other respiratory ailments among Americans to increase more rapidly than any other disease. In Los Angeles, automobile traffic alone results in over 20 million pounds of carbon monoxide being poured daily into the atmosphere. Even our open fields and beaches, which once glittered with beauty, are now spotted with litter. Each year, over 76 million cans and bottles are carelessly tossed away, and over 7 million cars are left for junk along our streets and highways. Obviously, some major reforms must be undertaken to control the rampant pollution in our country, and to clean up our environment before we are swallowed up by our own debris. And those reforms can best succeed through a cooperative effort by the federal government, private industry, and the individual citizen. For its part, the federal government last year increased anti-pollution expenditures to $400 million compared to $4 million that was spent for pollution control in 1955. I am hopeful that Congress will assign the highest of priorities to anti-pollution programs in the future. Both the coal and automotive industries have made significant contributions to pollution control. The coal industry has developed new uses for flyash, tons of which are sent annually into the air we breathe; and automobile manufacturers have developed an abatement device that is expected to cut carbon monoxide emissions by 80 percent. In too many instances we have used our technology to defeat nature. But, unless we learn to use it in harmony with nature, we may find that the final victory belongs to the monsters we have created. FEB 10 1970