In the late 1960's air pollution clouded our cities with toxic fumes spewed out by cars and factories. Air pollution in New York, Los Angeles and other major cities were linked to disease and death, thus leaving city life barely breathable. Another concern was the large-scale use of pesticides, which were often used in highly populated areas. Additionally large amounts of dead fish were reported on the Great Lakes, and the media carried the news that Lake Erie, one of America's largest bodies of fresh water, was in its death throes. Ohio had another jolt when Cleveland's Cuyahoga River, an artery inundated with oil and toxic chemicals, burst into flames by spontaneous combustion.
In addition to the media coverage about the Great Lakes, the media coverage of the massive youth rallies of 1969 - as well as the ghetto riots of 1965 to 1968 - helped to impress on the American public that the United States had become an urban country with complex problems compounded by huge numbers of
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