Quiet Miracles✓✓ 2 independent sources
Air Got Cleaner While the Economy Tripled
Six principal air pollutants −79% since 1970, GDP +338%
EPA's own trends tracker shows the decoupling in one chart: between 1970 and 2024, vehicle miles traveled nearly tripled and GDP more than quadrupled, yet combined emissions of the six principal pollutants fell 79%. And independent economists Chay & Greenstone showed the Clean Air Act's early years cut air pollution fast enough to measurably reduce infant deaths. Regulation worked so well it became invisible.
Since 1970, America's total emissions of the six principal air pollutants dropped 79% — while GDP grew 338%. Growth and clean air were never enemies.