ABSTRACT
The industrial revolution had a marked impact on the environment from the outset. In industrializing societies themselves, factory centers were often blanketed with smoke. Many people came to view smoke as normal, even a sign of health—economic health most obviously, but even personal health. New environmental devastation occurred throughout the industrial world. Acid rain from coal-burning factories spread widely. Tall smokestacks, used to control damage locally, dispersed damaging chemicals more widely than ever before. The established industrial region with the most agonizing environmental problems proved to be the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Industrial growth and the fierce arms race with the United States—in which the Soviet bloc participated successfully, but with great strain given its smaller industrial base—prompted tremendous neglect of the environmental consequences. As with global labor abuses, world opinion began to target environmental issues by the 1970s. News reports about global warming and the emission of greenhouse gases became increasingly common.
