ANECDOTES ILLUSTRATE 50-YEAR HISTORY OF WAR ON SMOG

Southern California residents take it for granted that air pollution control is a highly sophisticated science backed up by a world-class air quality monitoring network. It wasn't always so.

• One of the first indications of the ill effects of smog was its damage to plants. Read about early research into plant damage at the University of California, Riverside.
• The first smog monitoring network wasn't established until the 1950s. One of the first stations still monitors pollutants in downtown Los Angeles.
• Southland residents endured extremely hazardous ozone levels until 1974, when the last Stage III episode was recorded in Upland.
• Early air pollution officials had to contend with some serious pollution problems that no longer exist, such as orchard smudge pots.
• In their quest for clean air, Southland residents and engineers thought of just about everything to sweep away smog, including the installation of giant fans.