A stirring account of one of our greatest environmental success stories: cleaning up Southern California's air.
Los Angeles and smog have been synonymous for decades. From the 1940s through the 1980s, children breathed air so heavy with lead that their blood was poisoned with it. In 1970 officials declared smog alerts on 235 days. But the last smog alert happened in 2003, and lead has virtually disappeared from the air. This is the story of how Los Angeles cleaned up its air.
In Smog and Sunshine, environmental law expert and LA native Ann Carlson recounts the dramatic policy fights and the determined scientists, lawyers, and community members who worked alongside public officials to face off against major polluters and save their city. In a time of unprecedented climate change and skepticism about government and science, this book is an inspiring reminder of what concerned residents, individual leaders, and all levels of government can achieve by working together.
Ann Carlson is Shirley Shapiro Professor of Environmental Law at the UCLA School of Law and former Acting Administrator and Chief Counsel of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
"Ann Carlson gives us a remarkable view into the work of advocates, academics, regulators, and everyday people who refused to turn a blind eye to the toll dirty air was taking in Los Angeles and across Southern California. Now, with the broader fight for clean air and climate change upon us, it's time to learn from the past and fight for our children's future."—Gina McCarthy, the first White House National Climate Advisor and former US EPA Administrator
"In this vivid and compelling account, Carlson shows how leadership by citizens and public officials, scientific advances, and law worked together to vanquish the smog that suffocated Los Angeles and other urban centers for decades. In an era of rampant and indiscriminate dismantling of government programs, this story is a timely reminder of the immense health-enhancing, life-saving benefits of science-based regulation. This book could only have been written by someone with Carlson's matchless law and policy expertise, her expressiveness, and her deep love for her native city. We are lucky she chose to write it."—Jonathan Cannon, author of Environment in the Balance: The Green Movement and the Supreme Court
"In this long overdue account, Carlson tells the remarkable story of Southern California's decades-long battle to rid the basin of its terrible smog. Carlson shows, through a compelling narrative, that we need government and public servants to lead, ordinary people to fight, scientists to research, companies to innovate, and courts to enforce the law if we're to achieve environmental protection. That message could not be more timely as we confront a rapidly warming climate."—Henry Waxman, former US Representative from California
"Carlson tells the surprising story of how Los Angeles won its long fight for clean air. Facing relentless opposition from oil and auto interests and using the regulatory power of the Clean Air Act to force changes in technology, people from all walks of life refused to give up on the belief that clear skies and public health are not just compatible with but essential to the region's economic success. Smog and Sunshine relies on deep research and personal experience to remind us that enormous environmental challenges can be overcome with persistence and the willingness of leaders to adapt their tactics to evolving science and politics. A brisk and bracing read."—Mary D. Nichols, former Chair of the California Air Resources Board
312 pp.6 x 9Illus: 25 b/w images
9780520387393$26.95|£23.00Hardcover
Apr 2026