[Music] [...] [Narrator:]: With primitiveeyes, we once beheld our earth and worshipped it, itsstrength and its mystery. [Waves crashing] But then we learned toharness what we had loved. And each new miracle has slowly destroyed it. [Speaker 1:] 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, fire. [Rocket engine thunders] [Narrator:]: In an ageof achievements almost beyond our dreaming, wehave forgotten the Earth, and the skies have turnedgray with our waste. Debris from asmoking dump darkens the sky around Washington, DC. An Arizona lumber mill smudges the horizon with its refuse. In Los Angeles, California, automobiles create the main sourceof air pollution, combining with the sun toproduce photochemical smog. [People shouting] With each new asphaltplayground or city sidewalk, we destroy plantlife and we lose an important source of oxygen. [Car engine revs] Ozone, carbon monoxide, and other poisons fill the air. These are thenabsorbed by our lungs. [Music] Each day, public transportationin Los Angeles County dumps 205 tons of waste into our air. This tonnage affects all of us. Industry adds its shareof filth, 2000 tons. [Music] The automobile increases the load by dumping an additional 12,500tons into our air every day Throughout our lifetime, our hearts may double in size under this strain. [Music continues] [Loud rumbling] Whether large or small, combustion creates air pollution. The automobile, with itswasteful power plant, presents a perfect example. When a fuel is burned,some unburned hydrocarbons combine with nitrogen oxides. As the sun heats them, aphotochemical change occurs. The result is smog-- photochemical smog. But the automobile isthe mechanical backbone of our culture. And the major cause of airpollution in California. All automobiles are guilty, newand used, common and unique, gulping in precious air,polluting what's left. Even while turned off, theautomobile soils the air. Simple evaporation accounts for 10 percent of our problem. Running, idling, or off, alwaysconsuming, always polluting. Clothes that may never be clean because of smog. And the victims of lungdiseases made worse by smog. [Speaker 2:] Having had a chronic obstructive lung disease as well, in other words,emphysema, during heavy smoke concentrations, I get fairlyheavy pressure on my chest. Of course, it's very hard forme to breathe in the Los Angeles area, because when youget in a traffic jam, it is far from pleasant. There's all thepollution in the air. And I look forward to the daysthat we will be without smog. [Narrator:]: Medical researchis determining the effects of smog on living tissue. Dr. William Blackmoreof the University of Southern Californiaanalyzes smog damage on a colony of mice. He carefully noteschanges in each mouse. Damage to the vitalorgans of the animal has a parallel inthe human body. [Dr. Blackmore:] The animal laboratory sites that you are seeing here today are part of a large contract from the United States Public Health Service with the University of Southern California designed to study the long-term effects of smog on the animal colony, which we have housed in this site and in another adjacent site. These black mice, for example, showed that we had an incidence of what we call pulmonary adenomas. These are tumors which grow in the lung, which are not a normal physiology or a normal anatomy of that area. [Narrator:]: Specially designed equipment recreates smoggy atmosphericconditions in the laboratory. Dr. Robert Bills, also of the University of Southern California, has noted severe damage to lung tissue. Healthy mice are exposedto the smoggy conditions we encounter every day. After three hours ofexposure, electron micrographs revealed broken membranes,overtaxed cells, and disrupted cytoplasm. Young mice can recover, but those over middle age cannot. Dr. Oscar Bolchum investigates the damage to human lungs. [Dr. Bolchum:] Here at Los Angeles County General Hospital, the staff on the pulmonary disease service of the University of SouthernCalifornia School of Medicine is keenly interested in trying to ascertain the effects of air pollutants upon the breathing of patients with chronic respiratorydisease with emphysema. [Narrator:]: Blood testsbefore and after exercise reveal the straincaused by air pollution. While breathing polluted air,oxygen consumption increases. [Treadmill whirs] During exercise, breathingbecomes difficult. The lungs strain for oxygen. With age, this strain may prove fatal. [Dr. Bolchum:] I certainly think the smog devices will help greatly once the great majority of automobiles have them on, sothat they should be effective in reducing an important source of air pollution. However, hopefully, itwould be still better if we wouldn't produce thispollution in the first place. [Narrator:]: On smoggy days,residents of Detroit, Michigan, San Francisco, California,or Birmingham, Alabama inhale an amount oftumor-inducing fumes equivalent to 50 cigarettes a day...merely by breathing. At Riverside, California, common petunias display the cripplingpower of smug. Researchers analyzeother plants, such as the tobacco leaf. All are damaged. Damage to produceis also examined. This lemon treegrown in filtered air produced a full harvest. A tree grown in the air webreathe produced this one. In California, thisyear alone, polluted air means a loss to agricultureof $132 million. Lost beauty, lowerproperty values. A national loss of$11 billion a year. $65 for every American. But this dilemma hasnot gone unchecked. The California Motor VehiclePollution Control Board established in 1960has approved solutions found by private industryto the problem of auto smog and is researching others. The board is chargedwith the responsibility of testing and certifyingcontrol systems for all vehicular emissions. It has established aworldwide reputation for its pioneer achievements inthe reduction of air pollution. Its work forms the basis for the nationwide control program. [Speaker 3:] Nothing unique about the pollution problem in Los Angeles. Most unique feature is simply the way it's advertised. [Narrator:]: In a laboratoryin downtown Los Angeles, the board and its staff ofhighly qualified technicians have examined many aspects ofthe vehicle pollution problem. Research now focuses onthe automobile power plant, the internal combustion engine. Scientists have foundtwo major sources of hydrocarbon emissions. As the piston compressesthe air fuel mixture, gasoline slips by the rings. These unburned hydrocarbonsescape into the atmosphere through the crankcase blow-by vent. 25 percent of the problem is created here. Fuel that does not escape isignited by the spark plug. But still not allthe fuel is burned. The relativelycool cylinder wall clinches theadvancing flame front. Gasoline lining thewall remains unburned. And when theexhaust valve opens, this fuel is forcedthrough the exhaust system into the atmosphere. 65 percent of the smog forming emissions are found here. [Speaker 4:] Good to go. [Speaker 5:] Good to go. [Narrator:]: Thisparticular experiment measures the amount of unburnedgasoline or hydrocarbons passing through the crankcase. As the car speeds up,emission levels increase. Unfortunately, emissionlevels are also high during deceleration. Because of this, stopand go traffic conditions raise hydrocarbonlevels drastically. By mid-morning, sunshine hasturned the unburned gasoline into photochemical smog. Estimates indicate that nearly two million gallons of unburned gasoline and22,000 tons of carbon monoxide are poured into the airevery day in California. To aid in setting standards forthe control of air pollution, volunteers submitto eye irritation. In an environmental chamber,part of the state laboratories, photochemical smogcan be recreated to any desired intensity. The conditions thesevolunteers will face are exactly those of a hot afternoon in downtown Los Angeles. Exhaust fumes arepumped into the chamber and irradiated by ultraviolet light, which represents the sun. The concentration ofphotochemical smog soon becomes disagreeable. The level of tolerancefor each volunteer is recorded and analyzed. From these and similar tests, the state of California has determined that 0.50 parts per million of ozone, 275 parts per millionof hydrocarbons, and one and a half percent by volume for carbon monoxide are unhealthy vehicle emission levels. In Los Angeles, privateindustry cooperates by controlling 80 percent of its waste. But controlling the automobileis a different problem. Researchers have triedto solve the situation by altering fuel compositions. Each formula underwentlengthy examination. [Speaker 6:] This is a recording of the California exhaust emissions test. Start the engine and idlefor 40 seconds at 1100 RPM. [Engine accelerates] [Narrator:]: City, freeway, and open road driving conditions were simulated. But because the internalcombustion process tracks fuel into 150 different hydrocarbons,all gasoline creates smog. Used smog-free methodsof vehicular propulsion are in various stagesof development, like this turbine engine. [...] [Engine revs] It burns nearly 100 percent of its fuel. Another development is this battery-powered automobile. Electricity serves as its fuel. The United StatesArmy is researching the revolutionary fuel cell. This power plant operates on any fuel, consumes little oxygen, and is completelynoiseless and smog-less. However, the board estimates that a mass-produced automobile powered byany of these systems is still a decade away. [Roaring] And the smog problemis with us now. But the situationisn't hopeless. The board has approved controlsystems for both crankcase and exhaust gases. Crankcase blow-by emissions are removed by a system whichreturns unburned gasoline to the cylinder, eliminating 25 percent of our vehicular problem. Exhaust fumes require more complex controls. One of the mostwidely used methods is engine modification toinduce more complete combustion in the cylinders. Another systemignites escaping gases by delivering fresh airthrough distribution tubes to exhaust ports nextto the engine cylinder. Oxygen is thusintroduced at this point of highest temperature tooxidize the unburned gasoline. If all automobilesin Los Angeles were equipped withcontrol systems, smog would be decreased by 2/3. [Spencer Williams:] I'm Spencer Williams, administrator of the Health and Welfare Agencyof the state of California, speaking for governorRonald Reagan. California is proud to havetaken the lead in reducing the blight of auto smog. The state's program,though relatively new, has explored many uncharted by-ways. Today, controls are responsiblefor keeping one half million gallons of unburned gasoline and2,400 tons of carbon monoxide from entering California'satmosphere every single day. As new cars equipped withboth crankcase and approved exhaust control systems continueto roll off the assembly lines and replace older vehicles,that total will grow. Research indicates thata vehicle with controls puts out 70 percent less pollution than one without controls. So as new cars replace old ones,the smog situation improves. Of course, motorists and theautomotive service industry also bear a responsibilityin this program to make certain that their cars are kept tuned to manufacturer's specifications. A single misfiring sparkplug could drastically increase emission levels. I urge all Californiansto helpless rid our atmosphere of thisauto created aerial garbage and to protect our air, ourgreatest natural resource. [Narrator:]: Control systemsare installed and maintained at authorized stationsthroughout the state. Proper maintenanceof all systems will ensure longer lifeand better performance for each engine andits smog mechanism. We can have clean air again. Our gardens will be brighter. Our harvests more abundant. Ourselves, strongerand healthier. Clean air is our heritage. Now, our responsibility. We must actively support andshare in air pollution control. It's as importantas our next breath. [Music]