ABSTRACT
The ongoing industrialization of Europe in the second half of the twentieth century was accompanied by increasing environmental pollution and the destruction of nature. During the 1960s and 1970s, environmental groups generated environmental awareness among the general public and public authorities; this resulted in the implementation of environmental laws in the 1970s and 1980s. When this process began, pollution from industry was seen as the main problem. From this perspective, environmental pollution was mainly a result of heavy industry, transport, intensive agriculture, and urban sprawl. Authorities concentrated on the reduction of environmental pollution in these sectors. It can be said that they were quite successful in reducing this type of pollution and environmental disruption (Stanners and Bourdeau, 1995). Generally speaking, this was achieved via the implementation of strict environmental standards within the framework of environmental laws, the introduction of catalytic converters in cars, and better planning procedures in urban planning. Of course, this does not imply that all environmental problems have been solved. However, it is a fact that the emissions of many important polluting substances have been substantially reduced in most European countries (Downing et al., 1993).
