Why Tomorrow Is Different

• Author: Michael Curley
• Pages: 5-9

5

Chapter 1—Why

Tomorrow Is Different

The world started realizing the fragility of our natural surroundings—

what we call “the environment”—in the middle of the last century.

On December 5, 1952, in London, there was a n event called the

“Great Smog of 1952” or the “Big Smoke.” London had suered from poor

air quality since the 13th century. But with the advent of the Industrial Rev-

olution, it became much worse. Industria l smoke, smoke from vehicles, and

smoke from coal-burning furnaces shrouded the city almost constantly. In

early December 1952, t hose pollutants became trapped by cold air close to

the ground in what is called a “temperature inversion.” e ensuing smog

was so dense that it actua lly found its way indoors and caused the cancella-

tion of some public events. Four thousand people were reported to have died

in the four days the Great Smog hung like an incubus over London. e

word “smog” itself is a portmanteau of “smoke” and “fog” that was coined

early in the 20th century. Because the smog caused deep respiratory infec-

tions, which lasted months, the na l death toll was estimated much later at

about 12,000.

e United States got its own rude awakening on June 22, 1969, when

the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, caught re. at afternoon, oil-

coated debris was ignited by sparks from a train passing along the river. Only

$50,000 wort h of damage was done to one railroad bridge, but the event

caused a sensation in the press and captured the mind of the country. How

could a river catch re? As it turns out, the Cuyahoga River had caught re

some 13 times before. e event in 1969 wasn’t even close to the worst inci-

dent. In 1952, a re on the river caused some $1.3 million of damage. And in

1912, another Cuyahoga River re killed ve people.

e year after the 1969 Cuyahoga River re, Congress passed the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which was signed into law on January 1,

1970. NEPA is the archetypical environmental statute for the United States.

In 1970, the Clean Air Act (CAA), which had been passed in 1963, was

greatly expa nded. And on December 2, 1970, President Richard M. Nixon

founded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by executive