disgrace. for the first time polls showed the environment was one of america s greatest worries. that presented an opportunity for lbj s success. president nixon in 1958 he was moved that get out front in the environment. just days after nixon took office a huge oil spill in santa barbara california and ohio s river caught fire. nixon s senior environmental advisors. you have rivers catching fire you better be aggressive. weeks after earth day in 1970 nixon established the grand new environment tal protection agency. it is fair to say the government does a good job at cleaning things up. absolutely. he writes extensively on green regulators.