A Photographic Blast From the [Environmental] Past

6:17 pm - Fri, Jan 6, 2012: 12 notes

In Jan 1972, the USEPA asked nearly 100 freelance photographers to roam the country in the pursuit of a single goal: documenting “the environmental happenings and non-happenings” of the decade. By 1977, the photographers had submitted more than 80,000 images for the project, known as Documerica. About 1/4 of the photos were shown in public exhibitions but then filed away and largely forgotten.

Rediscovered by Jerry Simmons, an archives specialist at the National Archives and Records Administration, the collection has been unearthed in time for its 40th anniversary. More than 15,000 images have been digitized and posted at the National Archives Web site, and a selection is also available on Flickr.