viewpoint Ronald Reagan Governor of California
California sets clean-up pace Governor Paul Laxalt of our neighboring state, Nevada, likes to tell a story about a friend from Southern California who was invited to spend a vacation at Lake Tahoe-a beautiful alpine lake that lies between our two states. The guest was awed by the cool, blue beauty of the lake and the majesty of the mountains that surround it. But he left for home after four days. “He was terrified,” Paul explained, “to breathe air that he could not see.” There is no humor in this story for millions of Americans who have awakened to the fact that a booming economy and the “good life” are good for nothing iF our air is too dirty to breathe, our water too polluted to use, our surroundings too noisy, and our land too cluttered to live decently. I n California we are waging a war against pollution on every front. Some of the things we have done and are doing are attracting nationwide and even worldwide attention. Our air is cleaner than it was several years ago, despite the increasing number of motor vehicles on our streets and highways. We have the toughest motor vehicle emission standards in the world, and they are going to get tougher. We are proposing laws that will regulate the makeup of gasoline to eliminate smog-causing gas evaporation and exhaust fumes from truck and auto engines. We will insist that every new vehicle sold in California he equipped with properly adjusted smog controls before it can be registered. Our Air Resources Board is developing an assembly-line method to test every 1972 model vehicle sold in California. We are already equipping some of our state vehicles with dual-fuel systems that will allow them to operate on more smog-free natural eas in metrovolitan areas. We are crackine down on industrial and agricultural burning, and we intend to prevent a concentration of fuel-burning power generating plants along our coast by careful siting of these facilities. Last year the legislature passed, and I signed into law, what the Los Angeles Times called “the strongest state water pollution control bill in U S . history.” I t provides for fines up to $6000 per day against violators. Last year we adopted a pioneering program to control noise pollution. It calls for the cooperation of aircraft designers and airport operators in the muffling of jet noises. We have insisted that aesthetic and ecological values be given proper consideration in all types of public works-from roads to reservoirs. We have even rerouted highways to protect birds and wildlife.
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My purpose in citing some of the steps we have taken to improve the quality of life in California is not to suggest that government can do the job alone. As a matter of fact, some industries are far ahead of government in tackling the problem of pollution. For example, two California private utilities have initiated a program for conversion of their vehicles to a dual-fuel operation to combat smog. One huge refining company has invested more than $10 million to control air and water pollution. A steel plant, through development of a modern recirculation system, has cut its water requirements for proa%sing a ton of steel from 40,000 gallons to 1600 galIons, and a soap manufacturing plant has reduced its water needs from six million gallons per day to about 400,000 gallons. Oth,er industries are experimenting with methods to recycle viaste products and are developing techniques that will lead to practical and beneficial uses for the things wf : discard. Industry is learning that there is no profit in pollution, and I believe that it must he ennf nl,h:nn n,.ll.l+:nn ”,. yL couraged tn nrrmnt tha part of its normal business expense. I believe, too, that the manufacturer who does thiri should not be placed at a competitive disadvantage bec ause his competitor does not share in this responsibility. Free enterprise has given Americans more wealth, more freedom, and a higher staindard of living than any other people on earth. It has opened the doors to the universe, and I know that if technology can put a man on the moon, it can bring him back to a world that is not cluttered with the refuse of our own excesses. yvII
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maid Reagan was xted Governor California in w c m ber I966
Card
Vd”“le 4, Number 7, July
1970 539
