EPA Chief: Cleaner Cars One of Agency's Biggest Achievements in 40 Years

The nation's top environmental officer cites cleaner cars as one of the top achievements of the past 40 years. Transportation Nation partner WNYC interviewed Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, about her tenure and her agency's achievements.

WNYC's Ilya Maritz: "What would you say is the single biggest achievement of the EPA in the last 40 years, if you could tout just one, which I know is probably difficult."

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson: "It's actually impossible. You know, the Aspen Institute just released what they call "10 Significant Achievements by EPA." And there are some on the list that are surprising and some that aren't. It starts with the banning of DDT, which the first administrator did not long after EPA was formed, and you might recall DDT was the subject of the book "Silent Spring," a lot of the early environmental movement.

"There's taking the acid out of acid rain -- making rain rain again.

"There's cleaner cars, when you think about the fact that there are a hundred million more Americans and a lot more drivers than when EPA was formed and a lot more cars on the road, and yet air quality has gotten better."

Read and listen to the full interview at WNYC.