Los Angeles has battled air pollution for more than half a century.
But did L.A. actually invent smog as Gov. Jerry Brown said during a recent speech in that city?
Capital Public Radio’s PolitiFact reporter Chris Nichols checked out that claim, which he rated Half True.
“The governor was referring to something called photochemical smog," Nichols said. "It’s the brown, hazy stuff L.A. is known for. In the 1950s, a Caltech professor, just outside L.A., was the first to prove this modern smog is caused by car exhaust. But the general term ‘smog’ has been around for more than a century. So, the governor got some of this right but he also ignored a lot history.”
Brown made the claim at a signing ceremony for California’s new climate change law. That law requires the state to draw half its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
You can read full versions of all our fact checks at PolitiFactCalifornia.com.
