Project Documerica

Published April 27, 2011
In this May 1973 photo provided by the US National Archives, a jetliner passes above a Boston neighborhood near Logan International Airport.
In this May 1973 photo provided by the US National Archives, a jetliner passes above a Boston neighborhood near Logan International Airport.
In this undated photo, residents take part in an aquatic exercise class at the Century Village Retirement Community in West Palm Beach, Fla.
In this undated photo, residents take part in an aquatic exercise class at the Century Village Retirement Community in West Palm Beach, Fla.
In this Oct. 1973 photo, a sign hangs in the window of a gas station in Lincoln City, Ore.
In this Oct. 1973 photo, a sign hangs in the window of a gas station in Lincoln City, Ore.
In this May 1972 photo, an unidentified hitchhiker stands with his dog ?Tripper? along US 66 near Topock, Ariz.
In this May 1972 photo, an unidentified hitchhiker stands with his dog ?Tripper? along US 66 near Topock, Ariz.
In this Oct. 1973 photo, Mary Workman holds a jar of undrinkable water from a well outside her home near a coal mine in Steubenville, Ohio.
In this Oct. 1973 photo, Mary Workman holds a jar of undrinkable water from a well outside her home near a coal mine in Steubenville, Ohio.
In this July 1972 photo entitled ?Burning Discarded Automobile Batteries,? black clouds billow from smokestacks in Houston, Texas.
In this July 1972 photo entitled ?Burning Discarded Automobile Batteries,? black clouds billow from smokestacks in Houston, Texas.
In this May 1973 photo, an unidentified man rides a graffiti-covered subway in New York.
In this May 1973 photo, an unidentified man rides a graffiti-covered subway in New York.
In this April 1974 photo, miners line up to enter the shaft at the Virginia-Pocahontas Coal Company Mine #4 near Richlands, Va.
In this April 1974 photo, miners line up to enter the shaft at the Virginia-Pocahontas Coal Company Mine #4 near Richlands, Va.
In this June 1973 photo, a chemical plant adjoins a pasture in Marshall, Texas.
In this June 1973 photo, a chemical plant adjoins a pasture in Marshall, Texas.
In this Oct. 1973 photo, participants check out the Exide Battery Sundancer, an early experimental electric car at the First Symposium on Low Pollution Power Systems Development in Ann Arbor, Mich.
In this Oct. 1973 photo, participants check out the Exide Battery Sundancer, an early experimental electric car at the First Symposium on Low Pollution Power Systems Development in Ann Arbor, Mich.
In this May 1973 photo, the newly-built World Trade Center rises above lower Manhattan in New York.
In this May 1973 photo, the newly-built World Trade Center rises above lower Manhattan in New York.

The following photos are part of Documerica, an EPA project during the 1970s in which the agency hired dozens of freelance photographers to capture thousands of images related to the environment and everyday life in America. Modeled after Documerica, the agency has embarked on a massive effort to collect photographs from across the United States and around the world over the next year that depict everything from nature's beauty to humanity's impact, both good and bad. - Photos by AP.

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