How California’s war on smog and its ambitious car pollution rules made everyone’s air cleaner

The Clean Air Act gave California the authority to issue tough pollution standards for vehicles, with EPA approval. The Trump administration is now trying to stop it.

By: Ann E. Carlson, University of California, Los Angeles, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: March 31, 2026

Words: 1,386

Last Updated: 4 months ago

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By Ann E. Carlson, University of California, Los Angeles

Cars on the road today are 99% cleaner than they were in 1970. Air quality in the United States is much, much better as a result. In Los Angeles, where I live, lead levels in the air were 50 times higher in the 1970s than today, and the amount of lead in kids’ blood has plummeted.

What made that drop possible is arguably the most …

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