'The Antitrust Case of the Century': Kenneth F. Hahn and the Fight Against Smog

Abstract

This article discusses how Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn led Angelenos' fight to force the Big Three automakers of Detroit to clean up their vehicles' emissions during the 1950s and '60s, culminating in a major 1969 antitrust suit against the automakers for conspiracy to prevent or delay introduction of pollution control devices on their vehicles. The suit was later settled by a consent decree, and the court records remain sealed. Although Los Angeles led a heroic battle to discover, study, and comprehend the sources of photochemical smog and to place blame on the automobile - a battle which benefited the rest of the United States and all the nations of the world - the smoggy city’s effort to externalize blame for its air pollution also prevented Angelenos from fully confronting their own complicity in the problem due to lavish, wasteful mobility practices and consumption habits.

Keywords: Hahn, Kenneth F. Hahn, Nader, Ralph Nader, Nixon, Johnson, Detroit, General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Big Three, automobile, auto, car, truck, antitrust, APCD, Air Pollution Control District, California, smog, photochemical, Haagen-Smit, emissions, devices, pollution control, air pollution,environment