Tower and Town, October 2019 (view the full edition)Mark Broomfield“Every Breath You Take:
a user’s guide to the atmosphere” On Saturday 28th September at 12 o’clock The White Horse Bookshop will host Dr Mark Broomfield discussing his first popular science book ‘Every Breath You Take: a users guide to the atmosphere’. Mark approaches this topical and important subject in an engaging and entertaining manner drawing on both science and personal stories. Be ready to take a deep breath (literally) as he looks back in history, finds out about air pollution around the world today, and looks forward to what the future holds. Mark has worked as a specialist in air quality for almost thirty years. Before that, he studied for a PhD in atmospheric chemistry, working with some of the smelliest chemicals known to man, in a vain attempt to show that acid rain in Scandinavia wasn’t just caused by our power stations (turns out, it was the power stations). Since then, he has worked on all kinds of air quality projects, which have taken him up chimneys, into sewage works, onto landfill sites, and even out to the streets of Hull to carry out odour sampling. As he explains, this particularly arcane branch of air quality monitoring requires you to sit on a large blue barrel, then send large cardboard boxes containing air samples back to the laboratory, where they can be tested by people with calibrated noses. Air pollution results in about seven million early deaths every year worldwide – that’s more than obesity, passive smoking and road accidents put together. Closer to home, air pollution may already have accounted for 14% of the price of your house, so this is definitely something you should find out more about. Mark looks at our own individual responses to these big issues: should you drive a diesel car or not? Why are wood-burning stoves such a big deal? What can we do to protect the health of our families and ourselves? Mark doesn’t restrict himself to Earth: he takes you on a journey to distant planets, the ozone layer and ‘lazy’ and ‘disappearing’ gases. Mark is passionate about explaining the complex scientific issues linked to air pollution in a way that we can all get to grips with. Bring your questions, bring your noses, bring your lungs, and come to the White Horse Bookshop to find out more. Sarah Sharland |