The Air Pollution Problem An Appraisal, November 1960 (Annual Report for 1960)

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Voluntary Organizations: Most individuals are truly concerned; some are crusaders, some are misguided fanatics and a few are outright charlatans ... The fact that many groups have been misled is testimony to the need for better information ... Occasionally ... overly ambitious groups press their crusades to the point of impairing the economy upon which they depend for a living. Pendray - "the air pollution syndrome" - denial, name-calling, and clamming-up before a real attempt was made to solve the problem. In the past 15 years the attitude has changed, and notable progress has been made in industrial research to find economic means of abating air pollution. Much has been done by individual companies; a great deal more by trade associations. Probably more information of real value in assessing and alleviating the air pollution problem has come from industrial laboratories than from any other source. V. NONGOVERNMENTAL ACTIVITIES

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The words "Southern California" in the title were deleted in 1955. The smog problem in Los Angeles in 1953 had become so confused and so rife with emotion and politics that a group of civic-minded business and educational leaders undertook to solve the dilemma. It was generally agreed that the cause of smog was not known and that only independent, objective research could find the answers. A goodly source of the funds was the petroleum industry, so when the Foundation pointed out the importance of nonindustrial sources as the chief smog culprits, several segments of the community, as was inevitable, charged the Foundation with bias and self-interest. To a certain extent these charges and suspicious, not subject to proof one way or the other, diminished the Foundation's effectiveness. The Air Pollution Foundation

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The various news media need the intelligent cooperation of the information source to keep the publicly accurately informed. Reporters and editors cannot, as a rule, differentiate between fact and fancy in highly scientific fields. Conclusions 1. Civic-improvement committees, clean-air groups, and other voluntary citizens' organizations need technical information and guidance to direct their enthusiasm into effective channels. 2. Research by private industry and trade organizations would be more effective if better coordination could be effected among various organizations. 3. Legal controversies and political arguments between industry and government on air pollution matters would be minimized if sound technical and economic information were available and the opinion of neutral, objective authorities were sought. 4. Professional societies should continue their efforts to inform their memberships and the public of the status of air pollution abatement activities and the areas where more scientific information is needed. 5. The air pollution research and training activities of universities, colleges, and research institutes should be encouraged with whatever funds can be made available from both government and private sources. 6. News media offer an effective means of keeping the public informed. The responsibility for the accuracy of the information presented must be shared by the medium and the originator of the information. The Role of Communications Media

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