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The Donora Smog Disaster October 30-31, 1948

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The Donora Smog Disaster October 30-31, 1948

Grade Levels

10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade, 9th Grade

Course, Subject

Civics and Government, Economics, Geography, History
Related Academic Standards
5.2.9.B 5.2.9.B

Analyze strategies used to resolve conflicts in society and government.
5.2.9.C 5.2.9.C

Examine political leadership and public service in a republican form of government.
5.2.9.D 5.2.9.D

Analyze citizens' roles in the political process toward the attainment of goals for individual and public good.
5.2.12.B 5.2.12.B
Examine the causes of conflicts in society and evaluate techniques to address those conflicts.
5.2.12.C 5.2.12.C

Evaluate political leadership and public service in a republican form of government.
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  • Big Ideas
    All economic systems must answer what, and how, goods and services will be produced, and who will consume those goods and services.
    Citizens understand their rights and practice their responsibilities in a vibrant society.
    Civil discourse and thoughtful deliberation are necessary to promote the common good and protect the individual.
    Economic decision-making by entities and individuals impact others locally, regionally, and around the globe.
    Engaged citizens understand the workings of government and use historic precedents in shaping thought and action.
    Physical processes shape patterns of the Earth’s surface, including the characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems.
    The history of the Commonwealth continues to influence Pennsylvanians today, and has impacted the United States and the rest of the world.
    The interaction of buyers and sellers determines prices and quantities exchanged, except when influenced by governmental policies.
  • Concepts
    A nation's overall levels of income, employment, and prices are determined by the interaction of spending and production decisions made by all households, firms, government agencies, and others in the economy.
    Biodiversity, productivity, distribution, and characteristics of ecosystems are imperative to understanding environmental issues.
    Biography is a historical construct used to reveal positive and/or negative influences an individual can have on Pennsylvania’s society.
    Circulation of the oceans, ecosystem processes, atmospheric systems, and extreme natural events shape the character of places and regions.
    Community and individual rights are established in constitutions (Pennsylvania and United States), laws and regulations.
    Conflict and cooperation among social groups, organizations, and nation-states are critical to comprehending society in the Pennsylvania.
    Conflict and cooperation among social groups, organizations, and nation-states are critical to comprehending society in the Pennsylvania. Domestic instability, ethnic and racial relations, labor relation, immigration, and wars and revolutions are examples of social disagreement and collaboration.
    Documents and principles define the procedures, operations and rules for the functioning of government and society.
    Every citizen possesses means to influence government.
    Governments may implement progressive, proportional, or regressive tax systems.
    Historical examples of expansion, recession, and depression, along with current economic indicators, offer analysis of economic performance and prediction of performance.
    Human organizations work to socialize members and, even though there is a constancy of purpose, changes occur over time.
    Physical characteristics of places and regions are impacted through the interrelationships among the components of Earth’s physical systems: atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.
    Social entities clash over disagreement and assist each other when advantageous.
    State and local history can offer an individual judicious understanding about one’s self in the dimensions of time and space.
    State and local history can offer an individual, discerning judgment in public and personal life, supply examples for living, and thinking about one’s self in the dimensions of time and space.
    Textual evidence, material artifacts, the built environment, and historic sites are central to understanding the history of Pennsylvania.
    The Federal government budgetary policy and the Federal Reserve System's monetary policy influence the overall levels of employment, output, and prices.
    The Federal government budgetary policy and the Federal Reserve System's monetary policy influence the overall levels of employment, output, and prices.
    The location, distribution, and association of features on the Earth’s surface are sculpted by physical processes.
    The rights and civil liberties granted by the Constitutions of the United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are to be safeguarded by both governments and citizens.
    Trade occurs only when all participating parties expect to gain. This voluntary exchange is influenced by comparative advantage, competition, productivity, and trade barriers.
  • Competencies
    Analyze a primary source for accuracy and bias and connect it to a time and place in Pennsylvania.
    Analyze changes in how rights and responsibilities are interpreted.
    Analyze the role of physical processes that create distinctive landforms.
    Apply the concept of ecosystems to understand and solve environmental issues.
    Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the regional, national, and international economy.
    Construct a biography of a Pennsylvanian and generate conclusions regarding his/her qualities and limitations.
    Describe the interaction of the Earth’s physical systems.
    Describe the ways in which the Earth’s physical processes are dynamic and interactive.
    Explain how the gross domestic product can be used to describe a country's economic output over time, comparing outputs from year to year.
    Explain the difference between the budget deficit and national debt.
    Identify and analyze forces that can change price.
    Participate in citizenship simulations such as mock trials, campaigns, and elections.
    Participate in student government.
    Register to vote and cast a vote.
    Summarize how conflict and compromise in Pennsylvania history impact contemporary society.
    Synthesize a rationale for the study of individuals in Pennsylvania history.

Rationale

The Donora Smog disaster attracted attention to the lack of legislation pertaining to environmental issues and was an impetus for  the clean streams law in 1965 and clean air regulations in 1966. In 1970, the legislature passed an "Environmental Bill of Rights" which stated that "the people have a right to clean air, [and] pure water…." Simultaneously, the national government established the Environmental Protection Agency, and Congress passed the Clean Air Act. A few years later, Pennsylvania established the Department of Environmental Resources, one of the prominent objectives of which was "to ensure future generations of Commonwealth residents a quality environment."

Description

This letter written to Governor James T. Duff on October  31, 1948, calls for government intervention in a deadly industrial accident.  Atmospheric conditions in the vicinity of Donora, Pennsylvania, contributed to the deaths of nineteen people within a 24-hour period.  An additional 500 reported respiratory illnesses.  Pollution from the nearby zinc works was believed to be the cause of the deaths.

Content Provider

This document has been provided courtesy of the Pennsylvania State Archives, an agency of the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission.

Resource

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=8642&PageID=608722&mode=2&contentid=http://pubcontent.state.pa.us/publishedcontent/publish/cop_environment/phmc/communities/extranet/history/ourdocumentaryheritage/1945___present/donora_smog_disaster.html

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