Smog and Sunshine
The Surprising Story of How Los Angeles Cleaned Up Its Air
Book •
Ann Carlson’s Smog and Sunshine recounts how Los Angeles transformed from a smog-choked metropolis into a markedly cleaner city through science, public pressure, and government action.
Carlson blends historical narrative with regulatory and legal analysis to show how statutes like the Clean Air Act and California’s leadership drove technological innovation and pollution controls.
She highlights key scientists, civic groups, journalists, and policymakers who pushed reforms, as well as industry resistance and conspiracies that delayed progress.
The book connects those past lessons to contemporary challenges around climate change and air quality, emphasizing governmental capacity and community activism.
Carlson also centers environmental justice, noting that remaining pollution disproportionately affects low-income communities and communities of color.
Carlson blends historical narrative with regulatory and legal analysis to show how statutes like the Clean Air Act and California’s leadership drove technological innovation and pollution controls.
She highlights key scientists, civic groups, journalists, and policymakers who pushed reforms, as well as industry resistance and conspiracies that delayed progress.
The book connects those past lessons to contemporary challenges around climate change and air quality, emphasizing governmental capacity and community activism.
Carlson also centers environmental justice, noting that remaining pollution disproportionately affects low-income communities and communities of color.
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Mina Kim
How L.A. Cleaned Its Air—and What It Means for Climate Policy Today
