Author Description

The story of how we have polluted our planet is told here for the first time in a way that links the distant past with the urgent problems of today. Adam Markham takes the reader on a literary and scientific tour of the world of pollution from pre-history to the post-industrial age. Ancient problems such as lead poisoning in Rome and water pollution in Mesopotamia provide the background to a discussion of modern catastrophes including the hole in the ozone layer, climate change and the global drinking water crisis. Along with consumerism, the development of cities, global population growth and untrammeled industrial expansion have taken their toil. Adam Markham brings together these seemingly disparate strands of history into a highly readable account, that tells us as much about the future of pollution as it does about the past.