It seems like just yesterday that Senator Gaylord Nelson convened 20 million Americans for a national teach-in on the environment. But 40 percent of today's population wasn't even born that first Earth Day; one in five hadn't started grade school when the Exxon Valdez rammed Bligh Reef, and who can remember the smog that suffocated Donora, Pennsylvania. Even for those of us who have dedicated our lives to protecting the environment, it is a jolt to look back and recall just how bad things were. Armed with laws like the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and Superfund, we've made enormous progress since 1970. But we must remember the past, lest we put the future at risk. Even today, there are still those who say we don't need - or can't afford - environmental protection; that we must choose between the economy and the environment. History has proven them wrong. We now have cleaner air, cleaner water, cleaner land and safer food, and we enjoy perhaps the strongest economy in our history. So can we rest on our laurels. Hardly. Cars today are 95 percent cleaner than they were in 1970, but the number of vehicle miles driven has increased by 111 percent. Fuel economy - miles per gallon - is actually slipping. If environmental protection doesn't keep pace with growth, we stand in danger of returning to our polluted past. With that in mind, I am pleased to present 'Remember the Past; Protect the Future.' A short look at the long road traveled; it gives me pride to share what our society has accomplished, and hope for what must be done in the future.

Cover title. "30 years of environmental progress, 1970-2000"--Cover. "New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Tribal Nations"--Cover.