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History of the Clean Air Act

By tylercobb27@gmail.com

  • EARTH DAY 1970

    EARTH DAY 1970
    Organized by government officials and environmentalists, the first Earth Day was a day filled with lectures, rallies, demonstrations, and conservation work for the entire country. About twenty million Americans observed the day which demonstrated the widespread appeal of environmental conservation.

  • DEADLY SMOG IN DONORA, PENNSYLVANIA

    DEADLY SMOG IN DONORA, PENNSYLVANIA
    Due to a number of factors, including the large amount of industrial mills in the area and a temperature inversion, a heavy smog, or a fog mixed with smoke and other particulates, was trapped in the valley community of Donora, PA. The temperature inversion, which is characterized as a stagnant atmospheric condition, remained for five days causing twenty deaths and hundreds of illnesses until the wind finally carried it away. This and similar incidents prompted the creation of the Air Pollution C

  • USSR ENACTS AIR POLLUTION CONTROL LAW

    USSR ENACTS AIR POLLUTION CONTROL LAW
    This legislation was discussed and enacted due to rapidly growing industrialization as well as widely circulating conservation propaganda. It called for various stations to measure air pollution; however, it was not very effective.

  • DEADLY SMOG IN LONDON, ENGLAND

    DEADLY SMOG IN LONDON, ENGLAND
    Due to rapid urbanization and industrialization and on account of the high pressure weather system which created an inversion, a heavy smog settled on the city of London. This smog, or fog mixed with smoke and other particulates, lasted for four days causing thousands of deaths and even more illnesses. This prompted the passing of Great Britain's first Clean Air Act in 1956.

  • KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL (KAB) IS FOUNDED

    KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL (KAB) IS FOUNDED
    Businessmen created KAB in an attempt to halt or at least decrease the immense flow of garbage. The program did this in many ways including television and radio public service announcements, and it proved to be very effective in making the public aware of the issue.

  • RESIDENTS OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA FORM GASP

    RESIDENTS OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA FORM GASP
    GASP, the Group Against Smog and Pollution, is an alliance formed by residents to fight air pollution. They organized in order to work with as well as to educate the public and officials about this problem and to propose ambient air quality standards for Pittsburgh mandated by the Air Quality Act of 1967.
     

  • GREENPEACE IS FOUNDED

    GREENPEACE IS FOUNDED
    This Canadian-based organization was first formed to combat nuclear testing. It soon developed into an international movement to preserve the environment.

  • CFCs LEAD TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THE OZONE LAYER

    CFCs LEAD TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THE OZONE LAYER
    Scientists at the University of California at Irvine discovered and announced that the release of chlorofluorocarbons into the atmosphere, with the help of sunlight, leads to the destruction of stratospheric ozone.

  • THE EPA REGULATES TOXIC CHEMICALS

    THE EPA REGULATES TOXIC CHEMICALS
    With the passing of the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, now has the power to control the use of toxic chemicals. This law was an indirect result of the preceding Clean Air Act.
     

  • THE POLLUTION PREVENTION ACT IS PASSED

    THE POLLUTION PREVENTION ACT IS PASSED
    This act was to go beyond the legislation for clean air and clean water, and it would deal with pollution at the source. Specifically, this law mandated the founding of the of the Office of Pollution Prevention within the Environmental Protection Agency, the authorization of funds to states in order to develop source-reduction programs, and the requirement of businesses to report toxic substance amounts in the air.