The year 1970 was a milestone for efforts to combat air pollution. On April 22, the first Earth Day was celebrated. The 1970 Clean Air Act was the first policy to establish federal regulations on car and industry emissions. In July, President Richard M. Nixon announced his plan to establish the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by the end of the year. In the midst of this progress, a team of MIT students and faculty, with assistance from Caltech, organized the Clean Air Car Race — a competition to see…
