Before EPA regulations, air and water pollution shaped life across the US. See what American cities looked like then.

Source: Business Insider

A photograph from 1972 shows how "industry has changed the face of the San Francisco Bay Area," according to the EPA. Belinda Rain/EPABefore President Nixon created the EPA in 1970, water and air pollution weren't a federal priority. Photos of cities including Baltimore, Denver, and New York show hazy skies and polluted waterways.