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Clearing the air : the beginning and the end of air pollution

by Smedley, Tim (Journalist),

Format: Print Book 2019
Availability: Available at 2 Libraries 2 of 2 copies

Available (2)
Location Collection Call #
CLP - Hazelwood Non-Fiction Collection TD883.S565 2019
Location  CLP - Hazelwood
 
Collection  Non-Fiction Collection
 
Call Number  TD883.S565 2019
 
 
CLP - Main Library Second Floor - Non-fiction TD883.S565 2019
Location  CLP - Main Library
 
Collection  Second Floor - Non-fiction
 
Call Number  TD883.S565 2019
 
 

Summary
**SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY INSIGHT INVESTMENT SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2019** 'Read this book and join the effort to terminate air pollution.' Arnold Schwarzenegger Air pollution has become the world's greatest environmental health risk, and science is only beginning to reveal its wide-ranging effects. Globally, 19,000 people die each day from air pollution, killing more than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and car accidents combined. What happened to the air we breathe? Sustainability journalist Tim Smedley has travelled the world to try and find the answer, visiting cities at the forefront of the fight against air pollution, including Delhi, Beijing, London and Paris. With insights from the scientists and politicians leading the battle against it, and people whose lives have been affected by it, Clearing the Air tells the full story of air pollution for the first time: what it is, which pollutants are harmful, where they come from and - most importantly - what we can do about them.Air pollution is a problem that can be solved. The stories uncovered on this journey show us how. Clearing the Air is essential reading for anyone who cares about the air they breathe. And this much becomes clear: in the fight against air pollution, we all have a part to play. The fightback has begun. 'Compulsory reading' Chris Boardman
Contents
Prologue
Part I: Origins. The greatest smog?
Life's a gas
Particulate matters
No smoke without fire
The dash for diesel
Struggling to breathe
Part II: Fightback. The greatest smog solution?
Electric dreams
Road rage
What price fresh air?
Epilogue
The clean air blueprint: For cities
The clean air blueprint: For you.
Published Reviews
Booklist Review: "Sustainability journalist Smedley addresses one of the biggest issues of our time in this exceedingly readable investigation of air pollution. He candidly admits his own surprise at many of the things he learns, starting with the fact that it is invisible nanoparticles from car exhaust that are the deadliest adversary we face. As he traverses the world and observes positive transformations and inertia and worse in locations like Los Angeles and London, he relies on air-quality studies and data to prove the point that it is largely cars that have gotten into us into such dire straits. China, with its proclaimed War on Pollution, is an unexpected bright spot (although Smedley makes it clear that they were forced into their current proactive position by catastrophic smog), while supporters of diesel fuel are going to be hard pressed to defend their position in the face of this factual onslaught. In closing, Smedley provides a way out of our international air-pollution nightmare, offering a handy Clean Air Blueprint. This important work from a determined writer will inspire many.--Colleen Mondor Copyright 2019 Booklist"
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review: "Journalist and first-time author Smedley challenges readers to take charge of their breathing space in this disappointing layperson's guide to how ozone, ammonia, nitrogen dioxide, and other pollutants are poisoning the air and causing extreme health problems-smaller brain volumes, premature births, DNA damage-around the world, particularly in urban areas. He blames paddy fires, Diwali firecrackers, diesel engines, coal plants, wood fires, and just about everything that humans ignite or eat. "The reality is that most of us don't know what pollutants we are exposed to on a daily basis," Smedley warns, offering a crash course on particulate matter, "the tiny particles that float in the air, from road dust to soot, and cause the most damage to our health." He discusses clean air battles in France, Germany, India, and the U.S., and visits Helsinki wielding a hand-held pollution monitor, but the predominantly British sources and interviewees give a lopsided feel to a global problem. Meanwhile, Smedley's recommended fixes-for commuters to "quit our car habit," cities to increase "green space," and be more pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly, and governments to pass more stringent regulations-tend to the tiresomely obvious. This well-intentioned call to action is, unfortunately, unlikely to have much effect on an important public health issue. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved."
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Additional Information
Series Bloomsbury sigma series.
Subjects Air -- Pollution.
Air -- Pollution -- Prevention.
Publisher London :Bloomsbury Sigma,2019
Language English
Description 320 pages ; 22 cm.
Bibliography Notes Includes bibliographical references (pages 309-312) and index.
ISBN 9781472953315
1472953312
9781472953322
1472953320
Other Classic View