Los Angeles - Right wing critics of Hollywood have long blasted the entertainment industry for polluting modern culture. On Tuesday, Hollywood was blasted for polluting the environment.
According to a report published by the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Hollywood's massive movie industry ranks only behind petroleum manufacturing as Los Angeles' biggest industrial polluter.
The two-year report found that the movie sector produces 140,000 tons a year of ozone and diesel particulate pollutant emissions - more than the hotel, semiconductor, apparel or aerospace industries.
The report blamed the pollution on special effects explosions, idling vehicles, generators and teams of workers building monumental sets.
According to the Los Angeles Times, city officials rejected new regulations to reduce the pollution, fearing that a crackdown could drive away an industry that brings in 29 billion dollars in revenue and employs 252,000 people in the greater Los Angeles region.