Anecdote

The 36th President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson, was in a bit of a predicament.  See, President Johnson, while serving his term, would have to face a national crisis.  There were bursts of haze around the United States that could not be stopped.  Keep in mind that the years he served as President were 1963-1969 (taking over after JFK was assassinated).  There was no way to track where the haze would be next.  By the year 1966, it had landed in New York City, and it was the worst haze yet.  By the date of November 25, President Johnson had called for a first stage alert.  The very next day, the alert ended because a cold front had wiped the haze away.  A major crisis was diverted that day.

In only one day, the haze had killed 168 people.  That day was known to be one of the worst smogs in U.S. History.  In 1967, Johnson had passed the Air Quality Act, which required the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set standards for air quality index.  Once Johnson’s term was up, Richard Nixon stepped in as President, and in 1970, he passed the Clean Air Act.  This act requires states to limit the amount of emissions emitted from both stationary and mobile sources, helping to limit deadly smog and haze.

It’s crazy to think that there were two acts passed to keep the air cleaner, yet the impact of the act has reduced over time, thus making the air dirtier.  I wonder what Lyndon B. Johnson would say after seeing how our country acted as if all his hard work as President didn’t exist?