1967 photo showing industrial waste pouring in an uncontrolled way into the Cuyahoga River, in Cleveland,…

1967 photo showing industrial waste pouring in an uncontrolled way into the Cuyahoga River, in Cleveland, Ohio. Short lesson here for us in the speed of essential change, in our case with clean air for Covid and other diseases. 1/5 https://t.co/6gL7EqpdqS

The pollution in the Cuyahoga caught fire in 1969. There are no known photos of that fire, but it prompted a national debate about pollution. What's interesting though is that the river had caught fire multiple times previously, prompting no action. Here, in 1948. 2/5 https://t.co/ygzcJgOpg4

Then again in 1952. Still nothing was done, for nearly another 20 years. 3/5 https://t.co/Gva4Xj3qIX

Political cartoon from 1964. Lots of awareness, no action though. Fighting for obvious things like the need for clean water and clean air can take decades. Societies are social, they won't budge without huge catastrophe, or unless somebody makes change go viral. 4/5 https://t.co/dQ503cT6lH

Pictures in Tweets 2-5 from: https://t.co/gWNuEbvLNR Origin of pic in Tweet 1 unknown, shared on FB.