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On the Bleakest Earth Day, Trust the Undercurrent of Resistance

A crowd of hundreds of people gathered on a college campus, seen in a black and white archival photo.

The first Earth Day succeeded because of a decade of preparatory work. Here are the lessons for us in 2026.

The 56th Earth Day may also be the bleakest. Wave upon wave is crashing upon our system of ecological protections. But having spent years studying the full sweep of American environmental legal history, we can say with confidence: the bigger the wave, the stronger the undercurrent. First, at a time when advocates for the environment …

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‘Smog and Sunshine’: Achieving Clean Air in California

An overhead view of the freeway surrounded by trees and buildings with the smoggy Los Angeles skyline in the background.

UCLA’s Ann Carlson discusses her new book and how the state can address federal efforts to undo its emissions standards.

Los Angeles is famous for both sunshine and smog. Turns out the two are related. Ozone pollution is caused by the interaction of sunlight and the chemicals that come out of vehicle tailpipes and factory smokestacks. But when Ann Carlson’s family first moved to Southern California, nobody knew what caused smog and there were no laws …

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Watch “Clearing the Air: The War on Smog”

LAPL

The American Experience’s “Clearing the Air: The War on Smog” tells an extraordinary story. It premieres on PBS this Tuesday.

A few years back, a colleague of mine, who I very much wanted to remain at UCLA, approached me because he was contemplating accepting an offer at a Washington, D.C. law school.  He feared remaining in Los Angeles, even though he wanted to stay, because he didn’t want his young daughter exposed to the southland’s …

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