THE ATTACK ON BRITAINS ENVIRONMENT

Most of the western nations have the same basic environmental problems, but they take different forms in each country. Here you can read about the dangers facing Britain’s environment.

One of Britain’s environmental successes has been the control of air pollution, especially in London. Thirty years ago hundreds of people died every year from the dreadful London smogs. Since London and many other cities has become smokeless zones, areas where no coal fires are allowed. But now the increase in traffic is threatening serious air pollution in our cities again.

However, the commonest air pollution comes from the cigarette smoke which pollutes many public places, like cinemas, pubs and restaurants. Though cigarette advertisements are not allowed on TV or radio, you can still see them on posters in cinemas and in newspapers and magazines. The advertisements don’t tell you that doctors believe cigarettes cause 30,000 deaths in Britain every year.

Traffic and aircraft can cause serious noise pollution. Aircrafts are very noisy when they take off and the noise spreads over a wide area. Heathrow airport, near London, is the busiest airport in the world. Planes are only allowed to take off and land at Heathrow between six in the morning and eleven at night, but during the day fifty planes take off and land there every hour.

There has been bad pollution of Britain's rivers, and the government has tried hard to stop it. There are now strict laws against water pollution, though it still quite often happens incidentally. Britain and France share the problem of oil pollution from the Channel. This has caused great damage to beaches and wildlife.

The need of new roads causes great environmental difficulties. They often spoil the countryside and bring noise and pollution to thousands of homes. Since 1958 the pollution of Britain has increased by 11% but the number of cars increased by 400%.

There are now only about thirty metres of road for each car in Britain, so we’ll have to build more expensive motorways which damage the environment.

Cars cause other problems too: thousands of people die in car accidents; car parks use valuable space in towns and cities; cars use a lot of our limited amount of oil. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to do anything about all this because cars play an important part in the lives of many families; and the car industry employs large number of people.

Friends of the Earth suggest that the bicycle is the best way to travel because it's cheap, quiet and riding it keeps you healthy. However, there are far fewer cyclists in Britain than in some other European countries, so our roads aren’t built for cycling. It can be dangerous to cycle in large cities as British motorists don't seem to notice cyclists. Some people think that only buses and bicycles should be allowed in our city centres.