Volume Preface
Air pollution causes illness and death regardless of political boundaries. As of
the date of writing (May 2020), our world continues to face the coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic. There have been some preliminary observations that
emission and air pollution levels are falling, not unexpectedly, as society
restricts its activities via recommended measures to mitigate the spread of
the virus.
All of this is happening though at great human and societal costs. There is
therefore a pressing need to better understand the interplay of air pollution
sources, statistical analysis, and health effects. More than ever, it is critical to
have and deploy technologies that will help keep the air we breathe clean, both
through technologies that reduce harmful emissions as well as technologies
that keep the air that we breathe in enclosed spaces clean.
We are grateful for the contributions of the authors of this volume: those
who contributed foundational knowledge in the first edition and those who
have expanded the knowledge base for this volume with new or updated
contributions in the second edition. We appreciate the experts at all stages of
their careers who have shared their knowledge so that anyone may advance
their understanding of globally important issues.
We encourage the use of the Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and
Technology and its Part Air Pollution Sources, Statistics and Health Effects for
teaching or for obtaining a foundational oversight of the important concepts
and technologies in the section. There is a wealth of knowledge relevant not
only in this volume but more broadly across the Encyclopedia, and we encourage those who found this part to browse other topics in the Encyclopedia.
This volume is suitable for a spectrum of readers: students in advanced
courses, academics and scholars of all experience levels, and practitioners and
policymakers in air pollution or public health science, engineering, or policy
making or related fields.
We are all very proud to be associated with the Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology. The benefits of the Encyclopedia are many,
and at a time when several scientists and engineers may focus their efforts on
other types of scientific writing and many citizens may turn their reading to
sources on the Internet, the utility of this Encyclopedia should be commended.
The possibility to update the articles whenever research warrants and without
having to wait for a new edition to be published is both unique and important.
vii
Air pollution causes illness and death regardless of political boundaries. As of
the date of writing (May 2020), our world continues to face the coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic. There have been some preliminary observations that
emission and air pollution levels are falling, not unexpectedly, as society
restricts its activities via recommended measures to mitigate the spread of
the virus.
All of this is happening though at great human and societal costs. There is
therefore a pressing need to better understand the interplay of air pollution
sources, statistical analysis, and health effects. More than ever, it is critical to
have and deploy technologies that will help keep the air we breathe clean, both
through technologies that reduce harmful emissions as well as technologies
that keep the air that we breathe in enclosed spaces clean.
We are grateful for the contributions of the authors of this volume: those
who contributed foundational knowledge in the first edition and those who
have expanded the knowledge base for this volume with new or updated
contributions in the second edition. We appreciate the experts at all stages of
their careers who have shared their knowledge so that anyone may advance
their understanding of globally important issues.
We encourage the use of the Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and
Technology and its Part Air Pollution Sources, Statistics and Health Effects for
teaching or for obtaining a foundational oversight of the important concepts
and technologies in the section. There is a wealth of knowledge relevant not
only in this volume but more broadly across the Encyclopedia, and we encourage those who found this part to browse other topics in the Encyclopedia.
This volume is suitable for a spectrum of readers: students in advanced
courses, academics and scholars of all experience levels, and practitioners and
policymakers in air pollution or public health science, engineering, or policy
making or related fields.
We are all very proud to be associated with the Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology. The benefits of the Encyclopedia are many,
and at a time when several scientists and engineers may focus their efforts on
other types of scientific writing and many citizens may turn their reading to
sources on the Internet, the utility of this Encyclopedia should be commended.
The possibility to update the articles whenever research warrants and without
having to wait for a new edition to be published is both unique and important.
vii