The raging wildfires and the air quality fiasco that’s followed in this part of the world got me thinking about how bad the quality of the air was for us every single day in the 1970s.
Back when I was a small boy we had cars, sans catalytic converters, spewing toxic exhaust from leaded gasoline, cigarette smoke was literally everywhere, our elementary school still was heated with coal, and many communities still actively were spraying the extremely toxic chemical DDT to keep mosquitos at bay. It was especially hellish during the heat and humidity of summer when the pollutants would be trapped close to the ground.
The lesson in all this for me is not everything was better in the old days—if we can trust the statistics, in fact, a lot of things were worse here in the US:
- Violent crimes peaked somewhere in the 1990s and have dropped dramatically since.
- Major air pollutant levels have dropped 70-90% since the Clean Air Act was enacted in 1970.
- Waterways were more polluted. The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio was so polluted it would routinely catch on fire between the 1950s and 1970s.
- Life expectancy was about 8% lower in the 70s than it is today.
- Car safety and traffic deaths have improved dramatically.
- We had much less access to information. Pre-internet most people were forced to rely on mainstream media news for their information.
- Lastly, discrimination and social inequality were greater.
I guess the key to all of this remains if we can trust the stats.
“Nostalgia is a curious liar. It robs a miserable day of its misery, polishes its dents, and hands it back to you as if it were a treasure.” — Vikram Pai
Granted, the world today is far from perfect.
We still face immense challenges and have much work ahead—especially in those dense urban areas. Progress is an ongoing process of evolution, and we should never stop learning or striving to improve, both as individuals and as a society. That said, most people would probably agree that many of the deepest problems we see today originate at the top. Finding ways to replace self-serving or sociopathic leaders with genuinely altruistic ones could be one of the most powerful shortcuts toward meaningful, lasting change.
As overwhelming as it can feel today to sift through competing theories and perspectives I still think we’re better off than we were before. Our senses and that very important, and often under-utilized, biological computer between our ears can help us discern truth from fiction. Air quality is one aspect that anyone living through the 1970s will tell you has clearly improved.
Can you even imagine all the ways in which having access to only mainstream network news would alter your perspective and prevent you from even seeking the truth? The internet has a way of shining a light on things that need to be improved, replaced, revamped.
“All negativity is caused by an accumulation of psychological time and denial of the present... Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness... are caused by too much past, and not enough presence.” — Eckhart Tolle
Rosy-retrospection or nostalgia-bias is real and it tends to become an easier trap to fall into as we age. This explains why so many older folks can become bitter, jaded, and chronic complainers. As the quote from Vikram Pai cleverly states nostalgia bias contains detrimental risks far greater than making us jaded, it can keep us from seeing the present as it is can actually impede our evolution. As I get older, grayer, and hopefully wiser I’ll be trying like hell not to join that particular club.
All for now. Make this a wonderful day.
Do you really think some of that stuff isn't around as much anymore or do you just think people hide it better?
I think some of the negative issues and behaviors of the past have vastly improved, for sure. However, for other things we’re just subjected to a different/more sophisticated kind of deception.
Ah yes, nostalgia bias is real. I hate those posts that talk about how great we had it 'before'. Yet, I find myself part of the grumpy brigade as well. I don't like how AI is taking over, and we all go everywhere with our phones attached to us, and how propaganda is taking over every aspect of the internet so you actually don't know what or who to trust anymore, and every discussion on every topic reaches fever pitch. I miss the innocence of the 80's and '90's. But there is a lot to celebrate, and if we don't maintain positivity, we'd go fucking mad.
I know what you mean. I'm seeing a lot of those kinds of posts from people my age now on social media—I guess we're getting to that particular age. Lol. I see the danger of AI but I also can see some of the promise in it. People who weren't able to find some semblance of balance in the Mobile-phone Age will be absolutely screwed, glued, and tattooed (one of my pops' old phrases) in the Age of AI. It will be like the Mobile Age on steroids. I miss certain aspects of the 80s and 90s, for sure. I didn't have nearly as much fun as I should of in the 90s because I worked so much though. There IS a lot to celebrate. Every day we wake up breathing and coherent is cause for celebration.
Work and the 90's - nope, just barwork and finishing off my Arts/teaching degree very very slowly haha!
Hahaha. I also hope I don't belong to that group of women who complain about everything!! Your post, especially the main image, reminded me of my university days, when professors and students smoked in the classroom and I was the only one who didn't. Then I had a lung exam and I, who have never even put a cigarette in my mouth, had nicotine in my lungs. Right now, that could be grounds for a lawsuit. Although I feel there's less pollution of that kind, I feel that pollution occurs in other ways, quieter, less obvious, but just as lethal. Hugs, friend.
That would be a miserable existence to be a chronic complainer! It sounds like Venezuela was like America. The bars and restaurants used to be saturated in smoke. I remember how bad my clothes used to smell after going out. Everyone smoked back then, even if they didn't want to. There is still quite a bit of pollution, here the chemicals are even in our food supply. Thanks and I hope you're having a good week!
I went to London back in 1993. At the end of the day, I wiped my nose with a tissue and discovered that it was covered in soot from all the diesel engines. I had never experienced that until then.
That's crazy! The stories of how bad the pollution was when they were burning coal sound bad as well.
That was the only time I ever experienced obvious pollution. These days, we get the occasional smoke from Mexican wildfires. But most of the time I'm not sure if it's smoke or just haze from the humidity and dust.
#hive #posh