Smog Has a Hundred Year Old History
| 6/10/2007 | Posted by Patti under Environment |
Most Canadians would think of smog and smog days as something that originated in the late 20th century. In fact, the term ‘smog’ was coined back in 1905. Back then Dr. Henry Antoine Des Voeux delivered a paper to the Public Health Congress in London, England about the air in London. He noted there was a health threat inherent in urban living due to the pervasive presence of a “smokey fog” or “smog”.
In this country concerns were being raised about smog in 1946 during the debate over the building of the Spadina Expressway in Toronto. They even started a committee to investigate the long term of effects from smog in the preceding two years. A report in the Toronto Star said, “Toronto’s struggle with smoke-laden air will apparently continue for some time” It noted that the study group was planning to implement “public education” – “an admittedly slower way of addressing the problem,” it added.
Little did those forming the committee and the author of the Toronto Star report know just how slow that “public education” would be. The smog that covers much of the province, city and rural, these days has a different chemical makeup but is no less lethal. The way scientists squabble and politicians fiddle over the issue these days, I wonder how much truly will change in the next 50 years.
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