Environment by The National Library of Medicine

Focusing on Bogotá, Colombia as a case study, this film discusses reasons for rural-to-urban migration, and the consequences of that population shift. Homes and land are scarcer, and rural farming skills don't suit urban factory jobs. Large families aren't the asset they might be in other settings. The film profiles a successful "community-based distribution" (CBD) program sponsored by Profamilia, which assures easy access to contraceptives, providing an alternative to a large family that may not be the best choice for all households.

The film examines the contribution of motor vehicle exhaust to atmospheric pollution, with particular reference to the situation in Los Angeles, where topographical and climatic conditions there produce the effect of photochemical smog with the burden of vehicle exhaust in the air. The effects on human health are shown: experiments with animals and human volunteers are explained and the adverse effect upon plant life demonstrated. An estimation of the cost in economic and human terms is provided for California and the US as a whole.

Shows the principal sources of air pollution--factories belching smoke, industrial waste dumped in rivers, and auto emissions. Learn more about this film and search its transcript at NLM Digital Collections: http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101640831 Learn more about the National Library of Medicine's historical audiovisuals program at: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/collections/films

This U.S. Public Health Service film is aimed at the general public and discusses the need for citizen involvement in implementation of the Federal Clean Air Act of 1967. The message is narrated over shots of such major air pollution problem areas as traffic-clogged cities and smoke-stack industrial centers, as well a community meeting of citizens and "government experts." Citizens are urged to take an active part in the setting and carrying out of the standards for reduction of air pollution. There are also shots of patients hospitalized with respiratory problems.

This film opens with a cartoon segment. The main character, a coughing, sputtering man named Mr. Hack, is enraged by the amount of air pollution in his town. He decides to find the cause of the problem, first making his way to a nearby factory to complain to the owner. The factory owner denies responsibility for the problem and feigns concern about protecting the environment. The owner tells Mr. Hack that the electric power company is the one responsible for the problem, so Mr. Hack goes there next.

The films opens with smoke everywhere, so much smoke that it obscures the ground. The smoke is a result of burning to clear land, to create power, and run cars. There is also the problem of dust from grinding and crushing. These are two of the many sources of air pollution. The pollution leaks into the air and is concentrated in cities. The combination of industrial pollution and automobile exhaust causes cancer in the people who breathe the air. The same pollution is found in Europe. Dr. Brandt at the Robert A. Taft Center in Cincinnati reports on the damage air pollution does to plants.

There is an opening poem describing a pristine land as the camera scans the landscape. Then the film shows bulldozers plowing up the land. It then shows the area being paved with concrete and construction on the site. Trash is strewn everywhere. People are interviewed about the quality of life they have. Older people reflect on the changes that have been made to the land over their lifetimes. Other people comment on pollution, over-population, and other environmental issues.

The effect on the lungs of living in a polluted atmosphere is briefly shown on pathological specimens. Two patients are seen, one of whom had to change his job on account of reduced respiratory capacity due to bronchitis. This film uses very evocative footage of polluted city centres and inner city housing ; showing widespread burning of fossil fuels in industry and the home, as well as a hospital. The results are smutty deposits over everything.

Dr. Leroy Burney, Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service, and other authorities discuss the hazards of air pollution, its major causes and what is being done to control it. The film shows air sampling apparatus and an exhibit and scenes from the Community Air Pollution Conference in Washington, D.C.