‘American Experience’ presents ‘Clearing the Air: The War on Smog’

Tuesday, August 26 at 8 p.m.

It’s July 1943. Dark, smoky clouds suddenly descended over Los Angeles. Residents complain of burning eyes, nausea and difficulty breathing. The visibility worsened to the point it caused car crashes and people couldn’t see across the street. Although World War II was ongoing, a chemical attack was ruled out and the reason behind the smog was a mystery.

This is the story about the smog problem that let to the passage of the Clean Air Act. This event marked the beginning of the struggle for clean air, and people across ideological divides would create the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Clean Air Act, which went on to change the quality of air in America.