Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
![Digital Commons Network](http://assets.bepress.com/20200205/img/dcn/DCsunburst.png)
Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Breathing Easier About Air Quality, Joel Schwartz
Breathing Easier About Air Quality, Joel Schwartz
Center for Applied Economics
Most people associate air pollution with automobiles and factories. But air pollution has been a part of human existence for thousands of years, and accounts of noxious urban air go back to ancient times. The Roman statesman Seneca bemoaned, “the stink, soot, and heavy air” of Rome in 61 AD.1 London has suffered from air pollution since the Middle Ages, when coal became a common fuel in smithies and lime burners. The problem was bad enough that King Edward I in 1285 created a commission to improve the city’s air quality.2
Today, despite vast increases in energy production, motorized transportation, …