A Problem of Plenty.

During the 1980s the people of the United States lived a life of comfort unheralded in human history for so large and diverse a people. Astonishing advances in technology were largely responsible for the nation's material success. The country's comparative affluence had, however, a major side effect: pollution. From the earliest days of the Industrial Revolution the country's factories, chemical plants, and even (beginning with the use of manmade chemical fertilizers and insecticides) the nation's farms were culpable. While producing an expansive profusion of goods for market, the nation's economy had also been pouring vast quantities of pollutants into the soil, water, and air.

Superfund.

In 1980 Congress established the Superfund to clean up toxic waste dumps across the country. The Superfund was only one part of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), but CERCLA was...