ECONOMIC GROWTH VERSUS THE ENVIRONMENT: THE POLITICS OF WEALTH, HEALTH AND AIR POLLUTION
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ECONOMIC GROWTH VERSUS THE ENVIRONMENT: THE POLITICS OF WEALTH, HEALTH AND AIR POLLUTION
This book was produced out of dismay at observing one of the most devastating ironies of our time: the conflict between society and environment. This contradiction between basic human and biophysical (biological, chemical, and ecological) factors is clearly seen in vast, postmodern cities.
It is enough to walk the streets of any prosperous metropolitan city in the developed world to sense the liveliness of previous and present successes. Wealthy cities are particularly well-known for their luxurious structures, opulent residences and gardens, well-stocked concrete superstore malls, significant historical and cultural landmarks, and multi-layered busy motorways.
The simple act of breathing in this metropolis we all know and love may also result in something different, such as the detection of an undefined unpleasant odour of dust and smog, or, at worst, an uncomfortable choking feeling.
These cities are surrounded by vast, thick sheaths of brownish air. Such atmospheric conditions can be identified now by looking at cities from a distance or from the air.
Air pollution may be considered one of the oldest manifestations of the conflict between nature and mankind. It became widely used during the Industrial Revolution (Brimblecombe, 1988).
Common sources of pollutants include coal combustion, metal smelting, power plants, cement works, oil refineries, manufacturing plants, and automobiles (Clapp, 1994).
Rather than viewing urban air quality as a past topic that has been extensively discussed, thoroughly investigated, and subjected to legislation, this book treats it as a true conundrum of modern politics. Despite advances in air quality during the 1940s and 1950s, major challenges have still to be addressed.
These include how to best explain the presence of pollution, how to regulate its rising levels, and how to reverse the long-term patterns that have dominated recent decades.
This preoccupation stems from both the environment, as seen above with the thriving city, and the human consequences of air pollution. Urban pollution, as well as pea-souper, continue to pose health dangers to residents.
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