Urban air pollution in historical perspective

Urban air pollution is certainly not a new problem. During the
Middle Ages the use of coal in cities such as London was
beginning to increase. By the the 17th century the problems of
urban air pollution are well documented. The Industrial
Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries was based on the use of
coal. In addition the burning of coal in homes for domestic heat
pusehed urban air pollution levels further up with sometime
disastrous results. The Great London Smog of 1952 resulted in
around 4,000 extra deaths in the city, and led to the
introduction of the Clean Air Acts of 1956 and 1968. The problems
realated to air pollution, past and present, are well known but
less known is the cultural history attached to air pollution. In
this edition of Exploring Environmental History Stephen Mosley of
Leeds Metropolitan Univeristy will explore how Victorians and
Edwardians viewed air pollution and how they dealt with it. He
also suggests that there is a continuation of perceptions of air
pollution that links us with the Victorians.