Ed Bobit's Publisher's Page

For openers, George Bernard Shaw once said . . . "You see things and say—why. But I dream things that never were, and I say—why not."

Today, the great American dream is a pollution-free environment; and I ask, why not?

As an integral part of a group, participating in its own future, we are active members of the Ad Hoc Committee to support a Presidential Proclamation designating April, 1972, as National Check Your Emissions Month.

Visualize with me—if you would—a smog-free Los Angeles; a soot-free Chicago; a New York with fresh, clean air; in place of the cities we know today, suffocating in their own pollution. It's a known fact, that automotive pollution generates the eye-tearing, lung-penetrating, visual-deterring, body-killing influences, to a point that makes us feel the human race may have less than a generation to live, unless we take some drastic steps.

Currently, an important thrust is the effort to improve the quality of the air you and I breathe. Admittedly, I do not know the total environmental situation; the alternatives; the 'only' solutions; or the 'real' things that we should all be doing. I do know that we are being assaulted on all fronts; we are exposed to every professional, as well as non-professional group; well-minded, as well as yippie-groups; these groups want, and are working to lessen our air (as well as noise, water, spiritual, etc.) pollution.

One step we, the Ad Hoc Committee, support is to urge every fleet administrator during the month of April, to review every car within his fleet. Determine that each unit meets current requirements for insuring the clean air that we need. It could be a super effort; by checking items like plugs, oil filters, mufflers, air filters, and the integral parts of the 'unknown' system of the engine like PCV valves—it could make us all healthier.

Now that your interest is piqued, analyze what Dr. A. J. Haagen-Smit, chairman of the California Air Resources Board, and the discoverer of the link between smog and automotive exhaust, has said: "The job of eliminating air pollution from the automobile is over the hump. We're so far over the hump, I'm beginning to lose interest."

Consider also, some remarks by Martin J. Caserio, a vice-president of General Motors . . .

"A public alarmed without reason combined with political expediency can lead to ill-conceived and enormously expensive solutions to problems which may not even exist.

"For example, automotive emission standards set by the Federal Government for 1975 and 1976 contain provisions that, in a sense, even the Almighty is not meeting.

"A Federal Commandment states: Thou shalt not emit more than .41 hydrocarbon grams per mil. But if you own an average home in a typical subdivision, Mother Nature's growing foliage on your property gives off at least your daily automotive hydrocarbon quota for 1975.

"If you run your furnace for more than five hours you will exceed your daily automobile quota for oxides of nitrogen.

"In addition, burning four average fireplace logs will exceed your daily car quota of carbon monoxide. And how many people understand that carbon monoxide exposure due to air pollution today is generally insignificant compared with exposure due to cigarette smoking?"

According to these two spokesmen, we presently have, on late model units, the hardware necessary to eliminate automotive pollution. It is now up to us, the fleet administrators, to demonstrate our responsibility to lessen or eliminate automotive air pollution. While we may be over the 'hump', and we may have the hardware, if we don't maintain it, we might as well not have it. We must ask ourselves, "Is it really important to me?." If it is, support next April's "Check Your Emissions Month," and help yourself, your kids, and all mankind, make certain that we are indeed, 'over the hump' on pollution in the automotive industry.