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Coming Clean

This 1950s ad is but one of many of the time that equated cleanliness with the purity of nature. Perhaps in those days, we were unaware of the irony of that coupling; water-guzzling washers and heat-hungry dryers were not environmentally-friendly appliances back then. Of course, their efficiency has greatly improved—due to both regulatory and voluntary efforts. Let's hope that the recent rash decision regarding the US withdrawal from the Paris Accord doesn't curtail such independent efforts.