A Citizen's Guide to Air Pollution (2nd Edition)

As early as the 14th Century, people in London experienced the effects of bad air and it was a subject worthy enough for impressionist master Claude Monet more than a century ago when he visited the city and painted Waterloo Bridge shrouded in smog.

Air pollution affects all of us and the quality of our lives. Despite the profound connection – and indeed the utter reliance – we all have to the air around us, as a society (societies around the world) we are astonishingly ignorant about the importance of air quality.

In this authoritative book, Dr. David Bates and Dr. Robert Caton present an up-to-date knowledge base for societies to address air pollution and explain that until politicians, policy makers and communities understand the issues, problems will persist. They believe that sound judgement can only be made within the context of an informed citizenry, which is one of the reasons they have assembled this collection of intelligent essays.

Underscoring our growing knowledge about the health effects of air pollution is the fact that legislation in the United States, and to some extent in Canada, has been enacted mainly to deal with problems from automobile emissions, and the perceived need to protect public health.

And while this book largely presents data that address scientific, environmental and health issues concerning air pollution, it also provides economic analysis that shows more money is saved by reducing damage from air pollution than by simply controlling pollution.

David V. Bates, MD (Cantab), FRCP,
FRCPC, FACP, FRSC
Professor Emeritus of Medicine
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC

Robert B. Caton, Ph.D., QEP
Project Director
RWDI West Inc.,
Vancouver, BC