Gallery: The '70s Photos That Made Us Want to Save Earth
Photos by Marc St. Gil/National Archives and Records Administration01epa-1a
The Holmes Road Incinerator burned all kinds of trash, including, photographer Marc St. Gil claims, automobile batteries and plastic. It was closed by the Houston mayor's executive order in January 1974, two years after this photo was taken. It is now the site of a [prospective brownfield 10-megawatt solar farm](http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/sustain_plts/factsheets/houston_susfs.pdf) (.pdf).
Photos by Michael Philip Manheim/National Archives and Records Administration02epa-2a
Photographer Michael Philip Manheim documented the plight of the East Boston neighborhood of Neptune Road. It was located near Logan Airport and subject to the noise of plane after low-flying plane overhead. The noise proved too much for the residents.
Photos by Jack Corn/National Archives and Records Administration03epa-3a
Jack Corn's photos of miners in Virginia show the human skill the energy system requires, and the toll it takes, at the ground level. In this photo, we see workers preparing to go underground at the Virginia-Pocahontas Coal Company Mine #3 near Richlands, Virginia.
Photos by Erik Calonius/National Archives and Records Administration04epa-4a
The destruction wrought by coal mining in local communities was another frequent subject of the photographers. Here, we see Mary Workman, a resident of Steubenville, Ohio. Workman holds a jar of the water that came up from her well, which she said had been poisoned by the work of the Hanna Coal Company.
Photos by Jack Corn/National Archives and Records Administration05epa-5a
There was a social component to the mining life, too. Here we see some miners relaxing at the Coal City Club in Coal City, West Virginia. Photographer Corn wrote, "Note that some of them are "hunkering down" rather than sitting. This is a familiar stance to all miners who use this posture in the mine shafts, which have low ceilings."
Photos by Jack Corn/National Archives and Records Administration06epa-6a
Many of the photos captured the infrastructure necessary to support the large-scale mining and power operations. Here, we see the coal cars loaded up at the rail yards in Danville, West Virginia.
Photos by Dennis Cowals/National Archives and Records Administration07epa-7a
When Documerica launched, construction of the Trans-Alaska pipeline was just getting underway. Dennis Cowals headed up to Prudhoe Bay, near where the pipeline would begin, and photographed the local flora and fauna of the area. Through 2009, the pipeline has [transported 16 billion barrels of oil](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Alaska_Pipeline_System).
Photos by Terry Eiler/National Archives and Records Administration08epa-8a
Terry Eiler visited a Navajo reservation and found some ghastly environmental conditions. Here, rusting old cars are being used as a kind of makeshift dam.
Photos by Marc St. Gil/National Archives and Records Administration09epa-9a
Marc St. Gil's portraits of daily life in the south central Texan town of Leakey yielded all sort of idiosyncratic characters. The town was and is 50 miles from anywhere. The man in this picture went by the name "Woodrow Wilson."
Photos by Shel Hershorn/National Archives and Records Administration10epa-10a
In a time of turning on and dropping out, there were plenty of young travelers willing to make use of the discards of middle class America. Here, we see a hobo camp in Denver filled with miscellaneous junk.
Photos by Ernst Halberstadt/National Archives and Records Administration11epa-11a
In the pollution-choked cities of the day, some Bostonians found solace in Fenway Gardens, a 5-acre plot of land cut into 425 personal gardens. The urban farm grew out of the World War II "[Victory Garden](http://www.fenwayvictorygardens.com/history.html)" program, and remains open to this day.
Photos by Marc St. Gil/National Archives and Records Administration12epa-12a
American resourcefulness was also on full display in the photos. Here we see a gas station that's managed from the broken down bus in the background.
Photos by David Hiser/National Archives and Records Administration13epa-13a
Experimental builder and architect Michael Reynolds gained fame in the early '70s by building homes out of beer cans filled with dirt. Here we see one of those "Earthships" in New Mexico. All kinds of experimental energy-conservation technologies were built in, including the sloping wall at the bottom left, which is a solar heat collector.
Photos by Frank Lodge/National Archives and Records Administration14epa-14a
The [Exide Sundancer](http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/classic/112_0405_archive/index.html) was a tiny, 8-horsepower electric car built by race-car enthusiast Bob McKee. Photographer Frank Lodge saw these test rides at an energy conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
