EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE

An explanation of the atmosphere with an emphasis on the parts that don’t belong.

Broomfield, a British chemist specializing in air quality, reminds readers that before global warming caused by greenhouse gases became a universal preoccupation, scientists studying the atmosphere worried about air pollution. Most greenhouse gases are not poisonous. This is definitely not the case with pollutants, which cause as many premature deaths as smoking. The good news is that, unlike the case with global warming, the battle against air pollution has seen genuine progress. The oldest pollutant is probably sulfur dioxide from burning fuels, mostly coal. It produced the famous toxic London fogs that peaked during the 1950s and produced the first effective anti-pollution laws, which have reduced levels by 95% in nations where laws are effective. In the 1920s, when leaded gas was introduced, everyone knew that burning it released poisonous lead, but burning unleaded gas produces equally toxic byproducts. The solution was the catalytic converter, which also eliminated another pollutant: carbon monoxide. Many readers remember the 1980s, when experts warned that chlorofluorocarbons in refrigerants were destroying ozone in the upper atmosphere, which protects us from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. An unprecedented episode of international cooperation banned the chemicals, and ozone should recover in about 70 years. Two persistent pollutants today are oxides of nitrogen and ultrafine particulate matter, both from burning fuels. Many readers may be surprised to learn that the greatest source of particulate matter is wood burning. Anyone using it indoors for heating or cooking need not worry about outside air pollution, however; their inside air is far more toxic. Although the author pays attention to conditions in America, he writes for a British audience, so Britain is the source of most examples, anecdotes, and government regulation. But plenty of meat remains for American readers.

A useful primer on the science of air pollution.