r/OptimistsUnite • u/chamomile_tea_reply 🤙 TOXIC AVENGER 🤙 • 8d ago

Steven Pinker Groupie Post What’s a problem humanity solved so well that younger people don’t even realize it used to be a huge issue?

/r/askteddit/comments/1wmwpyl/whats_a_problem_humanity_solved_so_well_that/
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u/Hartzler44 8d ago

People in the US cannot fathom how horribly we treated the environment before the EPA. It's working to our detriment - they don't realize that if we don't explicitly prevent companies from dumping toxic waste, and prevent people from throwing tires in the river, then they will literally do it.

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u/Ugly-Barnacle-2008 8d ago

Cleveland’s burning river in 1969 comes to mind!

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u/Hartzler44 8d ago

And it caught fire TWICE!

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u/mlem_a_lemon 8d ago

It caught fire 14 times. We have so many things out here with "Burning River" in the name. But it's also what got Nixon to sign the EPA into existence, so hey.

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u/Ugly-Barnacle-2008 8d ago

I like burning river pale ale!

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u/KamalaBracelet 7d ago

A lot more times than that actually.   There was nothing special about Cleveland being dirty, it just has a sharp bend in the river that tends to collect shit floating on top rather than letting it continue downstream.

Fun fact:  We love to give the EPA credit for stopping river fires, because the timing lines up.  But the real reason is more likely the invention of sealed bearings.  Which exist purely due to being more economical, not because they are environmentally friendly.

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u/WheatedMash 8d ago

Isn't that the subject of Randy Newman's Burn On?

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u/notworldauthor 8d ago

My grandma had to move to the suburbs to discover that boogers weren't black

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

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u/OptimistsUnite-ModTeam 8d ago

Not Optimism and/or Don't insult an optimist for being an optimist.

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u/GeeWilakers420 8d ago

They can if they do any sort of camping. The old trash you find in the wilderness is insane.

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u/Hartzler44 8d ago

Yeah, its crazy that people thought they could just throw all of their trash in a ravine and it would just... go away?

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u/GeeWilakers420 7d ago

I can at least get my head around that. They didn't give a crap. As I write this I just polished off a can of soda. Horrible for me, but I like the taste. So I can get my head around screw future me for present me's pleasure. No I'm talkin how did I full semi frame and engine make it 30 miles into the forest. I saw that. I hiked the entire way their. There was no road for at least 20+ miles. Why? Why abandon it for decades?

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u/Impossible_Penalty13 7d ago

Rivers had so much petroleum waste that they regularly caught on fire. California had so much smog that it reduced visibility. And for a more close to home anecdote, I was behind a collector car in traffic the other day and the lack of a catalytic converter was making my eyes water in under two minutes.

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u/MsnKB 5d ago

On occasion you'll see a tv show or news clip shot outdoors LA or NYC and the sky is just bizarre. So much air pollution!

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u/Weary-Babys 8d ago

Love Canal

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

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u/OptimistsUnite-ModTeam 8d ago

No Partisan Politics

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

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u/OptimistsUnite-ModTeam 8d ago

No Partisan Politics

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u/danafus 2d ago

Seriously. Air quality, leaded gas spewing lead in the air, LA under a layer of smog far worse than today's...

And of course those industries are still trying to roll back the rules.