Breathing Space by Everard Mark;

Author:Everard, Mark;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zed Books
Published: 2015-07-14T16:00:00+00:00

Emerging issues

New pollutants are constantly appearing as toxic, noxious and other harmful effects are discovered. While many of the issues addressed above relate to impacts on the troposphere (the inner part of the atmosphere that we inhabit), concerns about ozone thinning are stratospheric. However, some emerging issues relate to less tangible chemically based effects.

Noise, too – one of the oldest acoustic pollutants and the subject of a great deal of common law cases as well as statutory constraints – is resulting in novel societal responses. Interestingly, as its chronic effects on wildlife and people become better understood, attitudes are shifting towards the protection of silence rather than the limitation of noise. For example, to reduce noise exposure and preserve the high level of biodiversity offered by naturally quiet areas, the EU Environmental Noise Directive requires member states to identify areas that currently experience very low levels of noise and to preserve these ‘quiet areas’ from human influence. However, very few member states have done this effectively, because measuring how sound varies in time and space is technically very difficult.

Odour is another form of tropospheric pollution and is variously chemical, biological, or related to other causes. It also has a long history of societal response, but is now gaining increasing attention. In part, this relates to recognition that ‘merely’ nuisance-based issues can lead to secondary medical concerns such as stress and to economic implications including depressed real estate values, as well as having potential biological impacts. This is forcing a reconsideration of a range of potentially troublesome odour-generating activities such as wastewater treatment, landfill sites, composting activities, the digestion of food waste, sludge handling and sewer gas releases, with associated technological and regulatory innovations.

Among other considerations discussed in Chapter 4: Abuses of the air were the insidious and potentially serious implications of light pollution for wildlife and people. A variety of institutionalised responses have been put in place, including a growing body of common law around light trespass and the beginnings of controls on excessive lighting, particularly during antisocial hours, under some jurisdictions. To assist a number of US cities that have developed standards for outdoor lighting to protect the rights of citizens against light trespass, the International Dark-Sky Association43 has established lighting standards to help redress this common problem and particularly to reduce light going up into the sky, thereby reducing the visibility of stars.

Recognising the value of dark skies to landscape character and tourism, the Northumberland National Park and the Kielder Water and Forest Park in the north-east of England were granted ‘dark-sky status’ by the International Dark-Sky Association on 9 December 2013; they have achieved ‘gold’ status, the highest accolade the association can bestow.44 Dark-sky status means that the night sky is protected and lighting controls are in place to prevent light pollution in the largest area of protected sky in Europe (1,500 square kilometres or 579 square miles). The granting of this status followed a two-year campaign by local institutions and citizens to protect the quality of

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