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I was just looking at the night sky here in California. It reminded me of the clarity that still existed in the 1980s in the southern hemisphere, or in my childhood in the 1960s. This is the rapid, deep decarbonization event imagined but clearly impossible just a few months ago. What happened? Maybe stargazing parties, socially distanced of course, to reacquaint ourselves with the natural world, the galaxy and the universe. What would probably do it was some unexpected comet like Hale-Bopp, an event missed by many due to light pollution and air pollution.
Guess you didn’t live near LA back then. This is LA in 1975. (In the 60s, it was worse)
If you go to this link, there are many photos of LA in the 50s and 60s. There are photos of people actually wearing gas masks on the streets back then.
Both sets of grandparents lived there, so, yes, first-hand experience. Not just the smog, but the ozone smell remain in memory. Also I spent a summer in the Angeles National Forest. One of the topics was measuring bark beetle spread and the effects of air pollution and climate disruption on the forest. I’m thinking back to a time before that and several hours drive north of LA, say, Saline Valley, when I last saw the sky look like it did last night here in California. It is miraculous, but maybe it’s just me.
Fingers crossed…