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Given the divisiveness of our politics these days, it may seem hard to believe that protecting our environment hasn't always been such a highly partisan issue.

In fact, just a half a century ago, members of Congress from both political parties — and from all corners of our country — came together to pass a landmark piece of legislation that gave Americans the ability to challenge a major federal project if it threatened to harm our environment.

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette on Wednesday slammed the chiefs of five e-cigarette companies over their role in enabling an estimated 5 million youths — 28% of all high school students — to vape in the past year.

"E-cigarette manufacturers have been negligent at best or intentional at worst in attracting young people to their options," DeGette said at a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, which she chairs. She added that companies used slick marketing campaigns and flavors to "lure" young people.

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) met with a group of Denver high school students for a discussion about vaping. Degette talked with more than a half-dozen students at South High School about their experiences using various vaping products, what drew them to try the product in the first place, and why they believe it's become so popular among students in Colorado and around the country.

It did not take long for U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette to hear in her meeting with high school students that the problem of teen vaping is likely worse than reported.

"Nationally, about 28% of high school students are using e-cigarettes or other vaping products," she said. "That's one in four students."

Aden Ray, a tenth-grade student at South High School, responded that he believed not all students were being truthful in surveys. "From what I've seen in the classroom and out of the classroom, it's almost like three in five students," he countered.