The LA Times, which has always been so generous with praise for our book, weighed in on what California’s environmental struggles with smog mean for the country going forward. Honestly, the commentary here by Shelby Grad reassured me that there’s little we can’t achieve when we work together in goodwill. Is that too hokey for our cynical age?
“…I recently read Chip Jacobs and William J. Kelly’s book “Smogtown,” an excellent history of L.A.’s long but surprisingly successful battle against air pollution. It’s hard to imagine living in that world now, where poisonous air kills children, your backyard garden, crops and even motorists who crash due to the blinding smog. But the most enlightening part of the book was its recounting of California’s uphill struggle to get the rest of America to care about smog. L.A. was choking, but to the rest of the country it seemed like a local problem. And the solution — regulating industry — seemed downright un-American. Washington turned its back on us. L.A. went to war with Detroit, which for decades successfully fought efforts to reduce auto emissions. But California finally prevailed, and in the process it began an environmental movement that changed the world for the better.”
Here’s the link to the rest of the piece. Never forget that we get the government — and climate — we deserve!
