Atmospheric Pollution During The 20th Century - 1569 Words

From young to old, rich to poor, male to female, air is the most fundamental part of human existence. One can survive days without food and water, but one cannot typically survive more than a mere minute without air. A writer at The Times in 1881 poignantly said, â€Å"the air we receive at our birth and resign only when we die is the first necessity of our existence† (Harrop, 2002, p.1). In the following, I will discuss the responses to atmospheric pollution in Britain during the 20th century and how those responses formed the basis for government intervention and legislation in the regulation and prevention of future pollution catastrophes. Air pollution is not a modern concept confined to the twentieth century or to the industrial†¦show more content†¦While this was the start of a long, hard fight to improve the quality of air and subsequent health, productivity, and prosperity of Britain, the bill was only met with moderate success (Scarrow, 1972, p.268). Fog w as simply viewed as the byproduct of industrialization, forward progress, and wealth and therefore for the next 100 plus years, and between two world wars, there was relatively limited and predominantly ineffective public action. No greater was there a year for the environmental movement than in 1952. It was this week in the middle of December that changed the course of British history. â€Å"On Friday night an unusually nasty fog descended on the city. On Monday the fog was as thick as ever†¦ At Sadlers Wells theater the opera La Traviata had to be abandoned after the first act because the audience could not see the stage† (Ashby and Anderson, 1981, p.104). While Londoners had been accustomed to extreme fog descending on their city, this was just the beginning of a crisis like no other. During that week, more than 4,000 people died: mothers lost daughters, sons lost fathers, and families lost loved ones. Not only was there a 60% increase in deaths than that same week of the previous year, but livestock perished, peopleShow MoreRelatedDiscuss the Impact of the Automobile’s Rise on Urban Form During the Twentieth Century and Critically Evaluate Planning Measures Used to Limit the Negative Social and Environmental Aspects1691 Words   |  7 PagesDiscuss the impact of the automobile’s rise on urban form during the twentieth century and critically evaluate planning measures used to limit the negative social and environmental aspects Since the rise of the automobile, there have been many dramatic changes to urban form in attempts to accommodate this new mode of transport. 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