Europe In The Winter
Sep 12th 2002 | 7:53 pm
#46
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Re: Europe In The Winter
"Joan McGalliard" <jem@*NO-SPAM*netspace.net.au> schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:1fifw4u.2jcdhz13aevpvN%jem@-
*NO-SPAM*netspace.net.au...
> Hatunen <[email protected]> wrote:
> > The historical pea-soup fogs of England and the rest of Europe may now be
> > considerably lessened due to the passing of the use of coal for residential
> > heating; the smoke particles serve as condensation nuclei for fog particles.
> This is true. There a very few fogs in London, and no peasoupers. As well as no
> longer using coal in heating, they have long ago shut down the coal fired power
> stations in central London.
> The killer fog of 1952 killed at least 4000 (government estimate) and 10 times
> that many, Eventually the clean air act was introduced.
iirc the first clean-air act in the UK was passed in around 1831 (or was it 1931?
"my memory isn't what it used to be") and they had people sitting up in the hills
around Glasgow watching for black smoke coming out of (industrial) chimneys, then
the'd run down and fine the evil-doer. Tim.
*NO-SPAM*netspace.net.au...
> Hatunen <[email protected]> wrote:
> > The historical pea-soup fogs of England and the rest of Europe may now be
> > considerably lessened due to the passing of the use of coal for residential
> > heating; the smoke particles serve as condensation nuclei for fog particles.
> This is true. There a very few fogs in London, and no peasoupers. As well as no
> longer using coal in heating, they have long ago shut down the coal fired power
> stations in central London.
> The killer fog of 1952 killed at least 4000 (government estimate) and 10 times
> that many, Eventually the clean air act was introduced.
iirc the first clean-air act in the UK was passed in around 1831 (or was it 1931?
"my memory isn't what it used to be") and they had people sitting up in the hills
around Glasgow watching for black smoke coming out of (industrial) chimneys, then
the'd run down and fine the evil-doer. Tim.
Sep 12th 2002 | 8:19 pm
#47
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Posts: n/a
Re: Europe In The Winter
Tim Challenger <[email protected]> wrote:
> iirc the first clean-air act in the UK was passed in around 1831 (or was it 1931?
> "my memory isn't what it used to be") and they had people sitting up in the hills
> around Glasgow watching for black smoke coming out of (industrial) chimneys, then
> the'd run down and fine the evil-doer. Tim.
Don't know about that, but the one that shut down Battersea and Southwark (now Tate
Modern) power stations was 1956, and after the smog, the government claimed that it
was a natural phenomenon and resisted any changes.
It's amazing how clean London is now - and how happy people are to dispose of rubbish
in smoky fires.
joan
> iirc the first clean-air act in the UK was passed in around 1831 (or was it 1931?
> "my memory isn't what it used to be") and they had people sitting up in the hills
> around Glasgow watching for black smoke coming out of (industrial) chimneys, then
> the'd run down and fine the evil-doer. Tim.
Don't know about that, but the one that shut down Battersea and Southwark (now Tate
Modern) power stations was 1956, and after the smog, the government claimed that it
was a natural phenomenon and resisted any changes.
It's amazing how clean London is now - and how happy people are to dispose of rubbish
in smoky fires.
joan
Sep 12th 2002 | 8:40 pm
#48
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Posts: n/a
Re: Europe In The Winter
> the government claimed that it was a natural phenomenon and resisted any changes.
I suppose they saw it like this: Fog is natural, and it's human nature to dirty the
environment.....so 2 natural forces come together.
> It's amazing how clean London is now - and how happy people are to dispose of
> rubbish in smoky fires.
I haven't lived there, or even visited for a while, but I always get annoyed when
people from Linz (Austria's major steel town) say "Oh I won't go to London, it's so
dirty there". <fx on>hysterical laughter fades<fx off> maybe, there's a lot of diesel
fumes in the centre, but otherwise the air is pretty clean for a city of that size.
I suppose they saw it like this: Fog is natural, and it's human nature to dirty the
environment.....so 2 natural forces come together.
> It's amazing how clean London is now - and how happy people are to dispose of
> rubbish in smoky fires.
I haven't lived there, or even visited for a while, but I always get annoyed when
people from Linz (Austria's major steel town) say "Oh I won't go to London, it's so
dirty there". <fx on>hysterical laughter fades<fx off> maybe, there's a lot of diesel
fumes in the centre, but otherwise the air is pretty clean for a city of that size.
Sep 13th 2002 | 12:06 am
#49
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Posts: n/a
Re: Europe In The Winter
I remember as a small boy - it must have been about 1952 - going up to London in the
winter. I have a memory of thick, dark, yellow, stinking fumes swirling in and out of
the tube station entrances. Lack of visibility was not the greatest problem with this
smog. There would then have been millions of domestic coal fires in London as well as
industrial coal fired furnaces and steam locomotives.
All this has gone and London air is cleaner in winter than many big cities.
--
Andrew Nightingale of Cambridge (UK)
winter. I have a memory of thick, dark, yellow, stinking fumes swirling in and out of
the tube station entrances. Lack of visibility was not the greatest problem with this
smog. There would then have been millions of domestic coal fires in London as well as
industrial coal fired furnaces and steam locomotives.
All this has gone and London air is cleaner in winter than many big cities.
--
Andrew Nightingale of Cambridge (UK)
Sep 15th 2002 | 8:00 pm
#50
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Posts: n/a
Re: Europe In The Winter
Joan McGalliard <jem@*NO-SPAM*netspace.net.au> wrote:
> It's amazing how clean London is now - and how happy people are to
> dispose of rubbish in smoky fires.
Clean? It's still the only city in a developed country where I can almost
invariably blow my nose at the end of a day out and leave black stains on
the handkerchief. The taxis and buses poop out chunks of smoke like
something from a cartoon.
miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world:
http://travel.u.nu
New mini photo-feature: Life in DC:
http://travel.u.nu/dc/
> It's amazing how clean London is now - and how happy people are to
> dispose of rubbish in smoky fires.
Clean? It's still the only city in a developed country where I can almost
invariably blow my nose at the end of a day out and leave black stains on
the handkerchief. The taxis and buses poop out chunks of smoke like
something from a cartoon.
miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world:
http://travel.u.nu
New mini photo-feature: Life in DC:
http://travel.u.nu/dc/
Sep 15th 2002 | 8:33 pm
#51
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Posts: n/a
Re: Europe In The Winter
"Miguel Cruz" <[email protected]> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:fcgh9.41939$KN3.1440@nwrd-
dc01.gnilink.net...
> Joan McGalliard <jem@*NO-SPAM*netspace.net.au> wrote:
> > It's amazing how clean London is now - and how happy people are to
> > dispose of rubbish in smoky fires.
> Clean? It's still the only city in a developed country where I can almost
> invariably blow my nose at the end of a day out and leave black stains on
> the handkerchief. The taxis and buses poop out chunks of smoke like
> something from a cartoon.
Obviously a lot of cities in developed countries that you haven't blown your
nose in. :-)
Tim.
news:fcgh9.41939$KN3.1440@nwrd-
dc01.gnilink.net...
> Joan McGalliard <jem@*NO-SPAM*netspace.net.au> wrote:
> > It's amazing how clean London is now - and how happy people are to
> > dispose of rubbish in smoky fires.
> Clean? It's still the only city in a developed country where I can almost
> invariably blow my nose at the end of a day out and leave black stains on
> the handkerchief. The taxis and buses poop out chunks of smoke like
> something from a cartoon.
Obviously a lot of cities in developed countries that you haven't blown your
nose in. :-)
Tim.
