To consider the relationship of environmental, development and economic growth.

1. The Technical Fix

Major disasters have led to profound changes in the way we manage environmental issues. Some might argue indeed, that they are necessary before any change is effected. An example from the UK includes the London Smogs of the 1950s (where thousands died prematurely from poor air quality). This led eventually to Acts of Parliament dealing with smoke abatement, the root cause of the problem.

On the other side of the fence, an overseas example of techno-fix from China where rapid industrial revolution brings its own environmental health challenges. The mopping up of mercury flooding into rice fields from industrial wastes for example, occurs there where industrial legislation and regulation are not well developed. Attempts are being made to address the problem by using rare earth minerals in the adjacent agricultural fields to neutralise the toxic effects of waterborne waste chemicals. A techno-fix helpful for now but not addressing the nub of the problem.

2. Case Study 1: The London Smogs

In the UK winters of the late 19th and 20th centuries, on significant occassions when stationary high pressure systems settled over western Europe, wind speeds fell and temperature inversions formed, pollution concentrations increased and fog became widespread and in contaminated form called smog.

This formed from emissions of particulates from burning coal in:

• industrial furnaces kilns & boilers
• domestic grates
• steam locomotives, canal boats, ships

The term smog was coined by Harold Des Voeux, treasurer of the Coal Smoke Abatement Society in 1905 (smoke+fog). Its colour and taste led to the popular term pea-super. The deaths arising (eg some 8000 in winter - elderly and very young suffering worsening bronchitis, inducing pulmonary disease and/or heart disease) from this sulphur-laden sooty smog were so great, it was termed the Great Smog (Williamson & Murley, 2002). (See figs 3.1/3.2)

City councillors met deciding that they'd like to see the city less offensive to the eye and that smoke pollution was terrible and should be eliminated. These profound events led to the Clean Air Act of 1956. Social, economic and technological changes were helping to reduce smoke and sulphur dioxide emissions. Urban development resulted in clearance of terraced housing with its inefficient home-heating systems and low chimneys, high-rise buildings with cleaner heating systems (eg central heating), electricity generation switched to larger 2000 MW power stations (albeit coal- fired) with tall stacks (built outside towns and cities) to replace urban ones. Gas process fell with the production of North Sea gas and technological improvements helped to improve combustion efficiency of furnaces, boilers with industrial operations reverting to fuel oil, gas and electricity more and more. The sulphur-laden sooty smogs in time, however, eventually gave way to photochemical smogs (which we suffer today) as the internal combustion engine gradually has become a dominant source of transport. These are initiated by nitrogen dioxide and the action of sunlight forming free atoms of oxygen (O-2) which combine to form ozone (O3) which was first recognised in the Los Angeles area of the USA (Porteus, 1995). It will irritate eyes and damage plants such as tobacco and vegetables (eg endives).

In brief, the chronological history of air pollution control in the UK is: