Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Source: Mark Whitehead
current discussions that are being orchestrated by
the International Commission on Stratigraphy
about the Anthropocene (see
Chapter 1)
remind
us that this new geological era cannot simply come
into existence: if it is scientifically recognized it will
be the product of the building of a new scientific
consensus in the geological community.
From 10am to 1pm visibility was good,
but after that became misty making
observation difficult. On the whole as far as
smoke was concerned, the observation was
disappointing, with hardly any of the
numerous shafts emitting smoke during the
time I was there. The following were some
that were emitting smoke today. The square
brick shaft at the Barking Gulford was the
worse case of black smoke I saw today, close
by lay a shaft owned by the Cape Asbestos
Co emitting dense black smoke.
3.3.2 Atmospheric uncertainties and
early atmospheric science
Before moving on to consider a geographical case
study example of the relationship between
atmospheric change and science, I want to reflect
upon two scientific studies of the atmosphere,
which collectively help to reveal the complex
and contested nature of scientific knowledge. The
first example takes us back to the early part of
the twentieth century and emerging attempts
to measure and quantify air pollution in British
cities.
The quote that follows is an account (cited
in Whitehead, 2009: 37) of 42-mile journey
undertaken by a Mr Bloor around the city of
London on 31 January 1925:
Mr Bloor was one of a growing number of
smoke inspectors employed by London County
Council to police air pollution in the metropolis.
Smoke inspectors were expected to provide
accurate, scientifically based accounts of air
pollution events, upon which various legal
prosecutions could be based. Putting ourselves
in the shoes of Mr Bloor enables us to begin
to understand some of the challenges that
air pollution presents to science. First, as an air
pollution inspector, Mr Bloor's ability to accurately
assess pollution events was, in part, determined by
