https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/air-pollution-covid-19-and-earth-day/ > Fifty years ago, on April 22, 1970, millions took to the streets on the first Earth Day, demanding clean air and environmental protection. Massive citizen participation, some 10 percent of the U.S. population at the time, led to the Clean Air Act, and other landmark environmental protection laws. > Now, President Trump has “commemorated” the 50th anniversary of that milestone by proposing to scale the enforcement of these same hard-won environmental protection laws during the coronavirus pandemic, right when we need them most, and thus making us more vulnerable to COVID-19 deaths. Debates over policy responses to protect against COVID-19 ignore one key remedy that Earth Day promoters understand: improving air quality saves lives.