Pollution Control Systems
Artist
Designer Unknown
Date1973
MediumOffset Lithograph
Dimensions23 x 18 in. (58.4 x 45.7 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LinePoster House Permanent Collection
Object numberPH.6781
DescriptionThis poster was issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a mailer sent to new car purchasers reminding them not to have catalytic converters removed from their vehicles. At the time, car manufacturers were spreading misinformation to consumers, telling them that this technology made their cars less powerful. The 1970 Clean Air Act established broad legislation on vehicle- exhaust emissions. In 1973, Engelhard Corporation released the modern catalytic converter that chemically removes the worst byproducts of gasoline-powered vehicles at the tailpipe, stopping them from entering the air. By 1975, the United States became the first country to legally mandate that all new cars include this technology. According to the EPA, present-day emission levels of new cars are 99 percent cleaner than in 1970, underscoring how effective legislation at the national level can be.On View
Not on view
