Earth Week Earth Day 50th Anniversary: Exploring 1970 and beyond Written by Sustainable Review April 19, 2020February 6, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked This is the 1970s: Watergate, Star Wars, heavyweight boxing, leisure suits, big hair, rock and roll. Add environmentalism to the list. Richard Nixon is most well known for the Watergate scandal, but he was also one of America’s most environmentally influential presidents, and some of his accomplishments are noted below. The first half of the 1970s was marked by governmental actions that had significant impacts both in America and abroad. The second half of the decade included a series of environmental disasters that raised widespread consciousness into the importance of protecting our planet.