Clearing the Air

April 15, 2019
Journalist and first-time author Smedley challenges readers to take charge of their breathing space in this disappointing layperson’s guide to how ozone, ammonia, nitrogen dioxide, and other pollutants are poisoning the air and causing extreme health problems—smaller brain volumes, premature births, DNA damage—around the world, particularly in urban areas. He blames paddy fires, Diwali firecrackers, diesel engines, coal plants, wood fires, and just about everything that humans ignite or eat. “The reality is that most of us don’t know what pollutants we are exposed to on a daily basis,” Smedley warns, offering a crash course on particulate matter, “the tiny particles that float in the air, from road dust to soot, and cause the most damage to our health.” He discusses clean air battles in France, Germany, India, and the U.S., and visits Helsinki wielding a hand-held pollution monitor, but the predominantly British sources and interviewees give a lopsided feel to a global problem. Meanwhile, Smedley’s recommended fixes—for commuters to “quit our car habit,” cities to increase “green space,” and be more pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly, and governments to pass more stringent regulations—tend to the tiresomely obvious. This well-intentioned call to action is, unfortunately, unlikely to have much effect on an important public health issue.

May 1, 2019
Sustainability journalist Smedley addresses one of the biggest issues of our time in this exceedingly readable investigation of air pollution. He candidly admits his own surprise at many of the things he learns, starting with the fact that it is invisible nanoparticles from car exhaust that are the deadliest adversary we face. As he traverses the world and observes positive transformations and inertia and worse in locations like Los Angeles and London, he relies on air-quality studies and data to prove the point that it is largely cars that have gotten into us into such dire straits. China, with its proclaimed War on Pollution, is an unexpected bright spot (although Smedley makes it clear that they were forced into their current proactive position by catastrophic smog), while supporters of diesel fuel are going to be hard pressed to defend their position in the face of this factual onslaught. In closing, Smedley provides a way out of our international air-pollution nightmare, offering a handy Clean Air Blueprint. This important work from a determined writer will inspire many.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)