Thousands of Orange County youngsters and their teachers visited the Nixon Library on Wednesday for the 15th annual Orange County Children’s Water Education Festival.
Brought to the Nixon Library by the leadership of Congressman Gary Miller, the two day event – which continues through today – aims to educate children about environmental protection and the conservation of natural resources. Participating sponsors for this year’s festival included the Orange County Water District, which directed the event; Disneyland Resort, whose environmental affairs team demonstrated the complexities of water chemistry; and the University of California, Irvine, whose volunteers taught kids about the importance of a community’s water supply. Also presenting are Southern California Edison, National Geographic, the U.S. Geological Survey, and volunteers from other area companies, non-profits, and government agencies.
It’s especially significant that the Orange County Water District chose – for the third year in a row – the backdrops of Richard Nixon’s museum and boyhood home, since the 37th President is responsible for the most sweeping green initiatives in American history.
On January, 1 1970 – at the signing of the National Environment Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) – RN pledged to make the 1970’s the decade of the environment so that America would reclaim “the purity of its air, its waters, and our living environment.” The landmark legislation made the issue a cabinet-level priority, and set the ground work for the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency just six months later. RN would subsequently follow up NEPA with the comprehensive Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Click here to watch RN’s statement on the environment.
Click here to watch our third Richard Nixon Legacy Forum about President Nixon’s environmental initiatives featuring former EPA head William Ruckelshaus, and White House officials John Whitaker and Christopher DeMuth.