This Day in History: 1948-11-18

Municipal housekeeping, 1947 The New York Times tells people there will be a “smoke abatement” (air pollution) rally coming up and says on this day in 1947: “We urge housewives and others to become better informed on the problem.” The gender connection to municipal housekeeping is an old idea in US environmental history and owes much to the insights of Carolyn Merchant. It’s interesting that the link to the women’s Progressive reform movement seems to have broken around this time, and the next year, when Smoke Abatement Week is declared by New York mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia, women’s roles in the event are not apparent.