The Air

I was listening to the original cast album of Hair the other day and when the song “Air” played I thought “Hmm. not much has changed has it?” But on reflection it has. Greatly.

“Welcome! sulphur dioxide

Hello! carbon monoxide

The air, the air

Is everywhere

Breath deep,

while you sleep

Breath deep” (1)

The song was talking about the choking pollution facing cities across the country and globe. The air was so thick you could see it. (Kind of like Bejing today). Full of particulates and acid forming radicals. When the Clean Air Act was passed in 1963 and amended in 1970 and 1990 the intent was to clean up the air and make it breathable and less toxic. It worked like a charm, and although many cities still have a brown haze of reacted hydrocarbons and other crap, the air on balance is much cleaner. But the unseen gasses in the air are now the focus of much worry. Methane, carbon dioxide and others promote the “greenhouse effect” .Many conservatives deny is real but the science is there in Spades. This effect is named after the warming that you experience in a greenhouse. Sunlight comes in through the glass, the wavelength gets longer and then can’t get back out through the glass. The result is the desired heating of the air. Same thing in the global atmosphere.
The upshot is that you can breathe with more confidence in many places where just 40 years ago breathing was dangerous. But you can’t depend on the future climate to be hospitable because the air is now polluted in a different way. There is a battle in congress right now to give the EPA the legal authority to regulate greenhouse gasses as it does with the other pollutants. For: people that believe the science and don’t want the world to go down the toilet. Against: industries that pollute massively and influence ignorant or greedy people into thinking the science is bad or nonexistent. Very Dangerous Game.

1. Music and Lyrics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_(musical)
Hear “Air” here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OC0WqMcTv0&feature=related
Image: chinadigitaltimes.net/china/beijing-environment