Clearing the Air - The Beginning and the End of Air Pollution

Tim Smedley

Bloomsbury Sigma

2019

304 páginas

10h 8m

ISBN-13: 9781472953315

The story of what’s happened to the air we breathe, the impact it has had on our health and what we can do to fight back.
Globally, 18,000 people die each day from air pollution. Clearing the Air tells the full story of what’s happened to the air we breathe. Sustainability journalist Tim Smedley explains exactly what air pollution is, and which chemicals are the dangerous ones and where they come from. He interviews the scientists and politicians at the forefront of air pollution research as well as those whose lives have been affected by smog. This groundbreaking book reveals the extreme instances of air pollution that have occurred around the world, examining recent stories like the VW diesel scandal.
For the most part, air pollution is anonymous—an invisible killer borne from the cars in our driveways and the industrial processes used to make stuff. Around the world, more than eight-out-of-ten people who live in cities breathe in concentrations of air pollutants that exceed international air quality guidelines. The annual number of deaths—6.5 million—is far greater than those from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and car crashes combined, and it is getting worse. These problems can be solved, and the message of the book is positive. The overwhelming majority of air pollutants are local, short-lived, and can be stopped at source; the benefits to health, instant and dramatic. There are many stories that show how the fightback against air pollution can and does work, and we can all play a part to clear our air.