There have been several attempts to write the history of Britain's chemical industry as a whole, and countless others concentrating on individual companies. Some have looked at the technical aspects of the industry, whilst others have addressed economic issues. Few have, however, attempted to analyse the effects of the chemical industry on society in general. The current environmental crisis can only be fully understood in the light of its history. This is the first such book to look critically at the whole development of industrial chemistry in the UK in the context of its effects on the environment. No one from industry, government or academia can afford to be unaware of the historical roots of our present dilemma. Industrial chemists can take heart from the realization that their predecessors were remarkably aware of the problems and often found satisfactory solutions. Industrial chemistry has traditionally been seen as the great 'polluter'. Without any attempts at 'whitewash' this book puts the record straight. From academic chemist to industrialist to politician, Chemistry, Society and Environment: A New History of the British Chemical Industry will be of relevance to all those concerned with the social and environmental impact of the chemical industry.

Even though China has created an administrative structure and regulatory programs to curb pollution, environmental quality has continued to deteriorate. Are polluters following the rules? How do regulators and polluters alike respond to ChinaOs environmental controls? This thoroughly documented study examines these central questions by analyzing compliance with programs involving wastewater discharge standards, fees, and permits. The successes and failures of these programs are tracked in comprehensive case studies and remarkably candid surveys of factory managers in six Chinese cities. The authorsO final chapter adds an international dimension by comparing Chinese water pollution control programs with their counterparts in the United States.

The ozone layer is threatened by chemical emissions, the climate is endangered from fossil fuels and deforestation, and global biodiversity is being lost by reason of thousands of years of habitat conversions. Global environmental problems arise out of the accumulated impacts from many years' and many countries' economic development. In order to address these problems the states of the world must cooperate to manage their development processes together - this is what international environmental agreements are designed to do. But can the world's countries cooperate successfully to manage global development? How should they manage it? Who should pay for the process, as well as for the underlying problems? This book presents an examination of both the problems and the processes underlying international environmental lawmaking: the recognition of international interdependence, the negotiation of international agreements and the evolution of international resource management. It examines the general problem of global resource management by means of general principles and case studies and by looking at how and why specific negotiations and agreements have failed to achieve their targets. The book, commissioned by UNCTAD to assist policymakers, especially in developing countries. It will also be of interest to practitioners in the areas of environmental economics and law and to scholars studying global environmental policy making and institution building.

State Responsibility for Transboundary Air Pollution in International Law systematically analyses the unique nature of problems that transboundary air pollution presents in international law. Although an attempt is made to present transboundary air pollution as a unified field, a distinction is made between pollution from industrial and related sources, and those from nuclear operations, given the very serious nature of risks that nuclear pollution presents. The book extensively considers existing regulatory frameworks as found in treaty regimes and non-binding instruments. The role as well as the shortcomings of traditional international law, especially the application of principles of state responsibility to problems involving multiple actors, and which cannot therefore be easily accommodated within the present bilateral framework of dispute resolution in international law is given extended treatment. The potential role of institutions charged with supervising compliance is also undertaken and the status of emergent principles is critically assessed. The issues examined in this book are of much contemporary relevance and will appeal to those interested in the legal aspects of transboundary air pollution as well as those concerned with the general issues surrounding the application of international law to environmental problems.

Air pollution damages materials, but it has changed dramatically in the past century, with a reduction in the concentration of corrosive primary pollutants in urban atmospheres. At the same time, architectural styles and types of materials have changed, as we have moved to more organically rich, photochemically active atmospheres.

Contemporary air pollutants have the potential to degrade organic coatings and polymers, which are of great importance to modern structures, while increasing amounts of fine diesel soot spoil the simple lines and smooth areas characteristic of many modern buildings.

This book examines a range of materials, discussing the ways in which they are likely to be damaged by air pollutants. It should be of interest to scientists and policymakers dealing with the effects of urban air pollution.

This established textbook offers a one-stop, comprehensive coverage of air pollution, all in an easy-reading and accessible style. The fourth edition, broadly updated and developed throughout, includes a brand-new chapter providing a broader overview to the topic for general reading, and presents fresh materials on air pollution modelling, mitigation and control, tailored to the needs of both amateur and specialist users. Retaining a quantitative perspective, the covered topics include: gaseous and particulate air pollutants, measurement techniques, meteorology and modelling, area sources, mobile sources, indoor air, effects on plants, materials, humans and animals, impact on climate change and ozone profiles and air quality legislations. This edition also includes a final chapter covering a suite of sampling and laboratory practical experiments that can be used for either classroom teachings, or as part of research projects. As with previous editions, the book is aimed to serve as a useful reading resource for upper-level undergraduate and postgraduate courses specialising in air pollution, with dedicated case studies at the end of each chapter, as well as a list of revision questions provided at the end as a complementary section.

The car, and the range of social and political institutions which sustain its dominance, play an important role in many of the environmental problems faced by contemporary society. But in order to understand the possibilities for moving towards sustainability and 'greening cars', it is first necessary to understand the political forces that have made cars so dominant. This book identifies these forces as a combination of political economy and cultural politics. From the early twentieth century, the car became central to the organization of capitalism and deeply embedded in individual identities, providing people with a source of value and meaning but in a way which was broadly consistent with social imperatives for mobility. Projects for sustainability to reduce the environmental impacts of cars are therefore constrained by these forces but must deal with them in order to shape and achieve their goals.

The inorganic and organic water constituents, often called color-producing agents (CPAs), responsible for water color are generally referred to as water quality parameters. Utilization of water color for assessment of water quality parameters can be achieved by using the established techniques in aquatic optics attained over many decades. Aquatic optics can be subdivided according to whether the natural water body is salty (marine), inland or fresh (limnological), or coastal (often brackish). The authors describe the transformation of water color under varying natural and anthropogenically-driven conditions and, for the first time in a quantitative manner, a closed circle of issues related to remote sensing of water quality in optically complex waters generally inherent to inland and marine coastal waters. Primarily, the text synthesizes the solutions of problems in remote sensing, incorporating mathematics, hydrobiology/hydochemistry, atmospheric optics and ecology.

Simple swaps and innovative ideas for cleaning and maintaining your home that won't cost the Earth. Learn how easy it is to make simple swaps in your cleaning and tidying methods for a more eco-friendly home, with helpful tips from bestselling author and Great British Bake Off winner Nancy Birtwhistle. This beautifully illustrated black and white guide with 101 hints and sustainable, natural cleaning tips and hacks will help you take small steps that have a massive positive environmental impact. In Clean & Green, Nancy shares the simple recipes and methods she has developed since making a conscious effort to live more sustainably, many of which are faster and easier than the go-to products and methods most of us use now. From everyday cleaning and laundry tips to zero-effort oven cleaner and guidance on removing tricky stains from clothing and furniture, these economical, practical methods are perfect for anyone looking to reduce their use of plastic and throwaway products. Nancy shares her tried-and-tested recipes for all-purpose cleaners, replacements for harmful chemicals that will keep both your home and the planet clean and green for future generations. 'The book I've waited all my life for' - Kirstie Allsopp

Environmental stories have all the elements of a good drama-villains that plunge the world into danger and heroes that fight for positive change. Industrial Disasters and Environmental Policy: Stories of Villains, Heroes, and the Rest of Us illuminates the interplay between environmental policies and the people and groups who influence their development and implementation. Through the stories of four major industrial disasters-the Union Carbide plant explosion, the BP oil spill, the Upper Big Branch Mine explosion, and the asbestos poisoning in Libby, Montana-this book examines the organizational breakdowns and regulatory lapses that caused these disasters, and how attitudes and policies changed as a result. It also explores the achievements of environmental heroes like Gaylord Nelson and Judy Bonds and how their activism has shaped US environmental politics and policies. Industrial Disasters and Environmental Policy concludes with a discussion of how the "rest of us" can participate in everyday environmental actions, hold corporations and the government accountable, and lobby for greater environmental protections. With its compelling stories and calls to action, this book helps students understand how US environmental policies have developed and transformed-and how they can continue to do so.

Forty years after the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, this important study examines the history, industrial uses, and harmful effects of the twelve most commonly used organochloride chemicals. All have been fully or partially banned by the Stockholm Protocol, an international treaty signed by about 120 countries in December 2000. Among the twelve are the dioxins (the active ingredient in Agent Orange) and polychlorinated byphenyls (PCBs), which are toxic in minute quantities. Johansen pays special attention to the Inuit of the Arctic, where these chemicals have been bio-accumulating to dangerous levels, moving up the food chain to a degree of toxicity that some Inuit mothers are no longer able to safely breast-feed their infants. The polar stratospheric ozone has been devastated by emissions of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and new scientific findings connect global warming near the Earth's surface to significant cooling in the stratosphere. This synergy aggravates ozone depletion because the chemical reactions that destroy the ozone become more energetic as temperatures drop. Synthetic toxins have taken their toll on minority ethnic groups in the United States, and persistent organic pollutants have inflicted physiological damage on humans and other animals. Finally, Johansen explores the estrogenic effects of such chemicals. Sperm counts have declined as much as 50% in 50 years.

Climate change, and also other factors, are capable of bringing about major disasters on a scale hitherto unimaginable. Ecological and other risks, besides having scientific and technological dimensions, are also a subject of study for social scientists, concerned with how disasters and potential disasters are noticed, perceived, guarded against, managed once they have occurred, and coped with after they have happened. This book considers a range of ecological risks and disasters and how they are managed in both China and Europe. It examines how far risks and disasters are perceived and managed in different ways in Europe and China, explores how an increasing humanitarian approach to "vulnerable people" being taken up in Europe is also being adopted in China, and assesses how far the management of disasters differs from wider government management of more ordinary aspects of everyday life. The book argues that the same stresses and strains which are present in normal society are there also, in enhanced form, in disaster situations.

In the current international situation, the ability to deal effectively with water contamination emergencies is of rapidly increasing importance. The third in a series of conference proceedings, this book brings together contributions from leading scientists and experts in industry and academia. It offers an international perspective and develops the themes of the previous volumes entitled Water Contamination Emergencies: Can we cope? and Water Contamination Emergencies: Enhancing our response. The full range of potential chemical, microbiological and radiological contamination scenarios are addressed from the perspective of medical and health professionals, water companies and regulators, environmental protection professionals, risk and business continuity managers, emergency planners, local authorities, service and support providers, detection and equipment suppliers, disaster recovery specialists, water security experts, water distribution modellers and laboratories involved in round the clock emergency response. Emphasis is placed on the considerable effort required to prepare for and respond to an emergency. It is not sufficient for Individuals to simply identify their own responsibilities, they must also take action to establish effective and efficient working relationships with the other parties involved. In other words, they must take "Collective Responsibility". In summary, this book will provide readers with an up-to-date view of current strategies and the collaboration essential for an appropriate and timely response to water contamination emergencies.

In "When Smoke Ran Like Water," the world-renowned epidemiologist Devra Davis confronts the public triumphs and private failures of her lifelong battle against environmental pollution. She documents the shocking toll of a public-health disaster-300,000 deaths a year in the U.S. and Europe from the effects of pollution-and asks why we remain silent. For Davis, the issue is personal: Pollution is what killed many in her family and forced some of the others, survivors of the 1948 smog emergency in Donora, Pennsylvania, to live out their lives with impaired health. She describes that episode and also makes startling revelations about how the deaths from the London smog of 1952 were falsely attributed to influenza; how the oil companies and auto manufacturers fought for decades to keep lead in gasoline, while knowing it caused brain damage; and many other battles. "When Smoke Ran Like Water" makes a devastating case for change.

China is currently afflicted by enormous environmental problems. This book, drawing on ancient and modern Chinese environmental thinking, considers what it is that makes an environment a desirable place for living. The book emphasises ideas of beauty, and discusses how these ideas can be applied in natural, agricultural and urban environments in order to produce desirable environments. The book argues that environment is both a product of nature and of human beings, and as such is potentially alterable by culture. The book explores the three aspects of environmental beauty whereby such alteration might be beneficially made: integrated and holistic; ecological and man-made; and authentic and everyday. This book addresses environmental issues by distinctively suggesting that an aesthetic approach inspired from ancient Chinese tradition could help us overcome the many problems that human beings have created at local and global levels. Although its main focus is the traditional and current contexts of the People's Republic of China, the book transcends national borders. A typical example is the ancient Chinese thought system and cultural practice of Feng Shui ( ) that sought to negotiate how the natural environment and human constructions can cohabit without destructing each other. The author evokes that sought-after harmony through the powerful image of gardens of life whose environmental beauty can be found in traditional Chinese gardens and palaces as well as historically and culturally preserved cities.

With increasing population and industrialization, our negative impact on our environment is no longer limited to coastal and surface waters or to urban air; it is necessary to examine the movement of chemical pollutants over vastly greater areas. Oceans, deep groundwater aquifers, and even the stratosphere are significantly affected. The mechanisms by which pollutants reach these areas, how they migrate and are transformed through physical and biochemical processes, and their ultimate effects are the topics at the forefront of environmental science. This volume addresses the fate of chemical pollutants in our air, water, and soil. The result of a historic collaboration between eminent Russian and American scientists, Fate of Pesticides and Chemicals in the Environment contains new predictive models of transport and transformation from many of the leading scientists in this area of research. Numerous informative chapters analyze the biotransformation of organic chemicals and pesticides, atmospheric deposition of toxic pollutants in the Great Lakes and elsewhere, the transport of volatile organic compounds and pesticide residues through surface soil, and many other important problems in the field. The sources and pathways of pollutants into all areas of the environment are thoroughly explored; the role of free radicals in chemical transformations, surface and bottom sediment redox reactions in water, the contribution of microbial degradation, and considerations for in situ biorestoration are just a few of the complex issues addressed. The book also contains comprehensive information on pesticide labeling laws and groundwater protection which will be of interest to all soil and waterchemists and environmental engineers.

This book is a compendium of highly purposeful studies all waiting to be conducted. It explains how avoiding common study design flaws, opportunities are created to observe that true risk assessment questions may not exist, that chemically exposed receptors are probably unharmed, and that ecological risk assessment might not be needed at all.

Non-Exhaust Emissions: An Urban Air Quality Problem for Public Health comprehensively summarizes the most recent research in the field, also giving guidance on research gaps and future needs to evaluate the health impact and possible remediation of non-exhaust particle emissions. With contributions from some of the major experts and stakeholders in air quality, this book comprehensively defines the state-of-the-art of current knowledge, gaps and future needs for a better understanding of particulate matter (PM) emissions, from non-exhaust sources of road traffic to improve public health. PM is a heterogeneous mix of chemical elements and sources, with road traffic being the major source in large cities. A significant part of these emissions come from non-exhaust processes, such as brake, tire, road wear, and road dust resuspension. While motor exhaust emissions have been successfully reduced by means of regulation, non-exhaust emissions are currently uncontrolled and their importance is destined to increase and become the dominant urban source of particle matter by 2020. Nevertheless, current knowledge on the non-exhaust emissions is still limited. This is an essential book to researchers and advanced students from a broad range of disciplines, such as public health, toxicology, atmospheric sciences, environmental sciences, atmospheric chemistry and physics, geochemistry, epidemiology, built environment, road and vehicle engineering, and city planning. In addition, European and local authorities responsible for air quality and those in the industrial sectors related to vehicle and brake manufacturing and technological remediation measures will also find the book valuable.

Groundwater issues have generated worldwide concern in recent decades. The problems are numerous: too little groundwater, too much groundwater, groundwater contaminated by either saline water or a broad spectrum of industrial and domestic pollutants. Many urban groundwater problems are not unique to any one region, which is the thinking behind this book. Many of the case studies presented here have never before been described in English. Overall, the papers represent the work and experience of researchers and groundwater professionals who have worked on urban groundwater issues in developed and less-developed nations around the world. They reveal the magnitude and scope of the problem as well as identify future challenges, potential courses of action, and emerging technologies that offer hope for the future.

Over the past two decades, environmental racism has become the rallying cry for whole communities - African American, urban, and poor - as they discover that they are contaminated by toxic chemicals and industrial waste. Living next door to factories and industrial sites for years, the people in these communities often have record health problems and debilitating medical conditions. Melissa Checker tells the story of one such neighborhood, Hyde Park, in Augusta, Georgia, and the tenacious activism of its two hundred African American families. This community, at one time surrounded by nine polluting industries including three factories and two junkyards, is struggling to make their voices heard and their community safe again. For the past twelve years, the residents have been battling for compensation from the industries, which they say have ruined their homes and health. These residents, many of them veterans of the civil rights movement, now have a new battle: environmental justice. In Polluted Promises, Checker argues that Hyde Park stands for many other African American and other poor and minority communities, especially but not exclusively in the South. still key factors in determining the politics of pollution.

As the dazzling economic and social changes in China have imposed substantial impact upon the quality of environmental governance, it is time to review the problems and progress in the politics of China's environmental protection. This book analyzes the factors in China's governance and political process that affect and restrain its capacity to handle the mounting environmental problems. It argues that solutions to China's ecological woes to a larger extent lie in the political and institutional changes rather than in engineering, technological and investment input. The book talks about new policies and reform measures in the green area taken by the government since 2007, arguing that some of them may be quite effective in the long run, as long as they alter institutional factors and the "growth-first" mindset that obstruct the green effort.

The book also includes discussion of China's climate change policy not only because global warming has come under the limelight of the international community in recent years, but also because it offers a unique dimension to analyze the country's environmental diplomacy and domestic bureaucratic structure on emissions cutting and related energy issues. China is currently at the crossroads of further political and economic reform, and the intensified public attention to environmental pollution may help the Chinese Communist Party to decisively push forward the long-sluggish political reforms.

In spite of decades of research on toxicants, along with the growing role of scientific expertise in public policy and the unprecedented rise in the number of national and international institutions dealing with environmental health issues, problems surrounding contaminants and their effects on health have never appeared so important, sometimes to the point of appearing insurmountable. This calls for a reconsideration of the roles of scientific knowledge and expertise in the definition and management of toxic issues, which this book seeks to do. It looks at complex historical, social, and political dynamics, made up of public controversies, environmental and health crises, economic interests, and political responses, and demonstrates how and to what extent scientific knowledge about toxicants has been caught between scientific, economic, and political imperatives.

Assessment, Restoration and Reclamation of Mining Influenced Soils covers processes operating in the environment as a result of mining activity, including the whole spectra of negative effects of anthropopressure and the environment, from changes in soil chemistry, changes in soil physical properties, geomechanical disturbances, and mine water discharges. Mining activity and its waste are an environmental concern. Knowledge of the fate of potentially harmful elements and their effect on plants and the food chain, and ultimately on human health, is still being understood. Therefore, there is a need for better knowledge on the origin, distribution, and management of mine waste on a global level. This book provides information on hazard assessment and remediation of the disturbed environment, including stabilization of contaminated soils and phytoremediation, and will help scientists and public authorities formulate answers to the daily challenges related to the restoration of contaminated land.

Human Colonization of the Arctic: The Interaction Between Early Migration and the Paleoenvironment explores the relationship between humans and the environment during this early time of colonization, utilizing analytical methods from both the social and natural sciences to develop a unique, interdisciplinary approach that gives the reader a much broader understanding of the interrelationship between humanity and the environment. As colonization of the polar region was intermittent and irregular, based on how early humans interacted with the land, this book provides a glance into how humans developed new ways to make the region more habitable. The book applies not only to the physical continents, but also the arctic waters. This is how humans succeeded in crossing the Bering Strait and water area between Canadian Arctic Islands. About 4500 years ago , humans reached the northern extremity of Greenland and were able to live through the months of polar nights by both adapting to, and making, changes in their environment.

The control of arsenic pollution has attracted worldwide attention, as it is one of the top 20 hazardous substances, and greatly threatens the human health, ecological balance, and industrial development. Arsenic pollution results from natural enrichment and anthropological activities, especially mining and smelting operations. This book introduces arsenic pollution control technologies for aqueous solution and solid wastes produced by the utilization of arsenic-containing materials. It systematically discusses the principles and technologies of arsenic pollution control based on the author's 16 years of research on arsenic, to help readers gain an understanding of various aspects of arsenic pollution control, including the pollution source distribution of arsenic in typical smelters, arsenic behaviors and pollution control technologies in aqueous solution and solid waste, and clean unitization of arsenic-containing materials.