Abstract
THE final report of Lord Newton's Committee on Smoke and Noxious Vapours Abatement, appointed nearly two years ago by the Minister of Health, makes its appearance at an opportune time. The conditions affecting the supply and distribution of coal are gradually becoming more normal, and we are looking forward to the time when its consumption will more nearly accord with the country's needs. The recent disturbance in the coal trade and the absolute futility of the wasteful strike have taught us many lessons which it would be the height of unwisdom not to lay to heart. We have learned, for example, the imperative necessity for more economy in the consumption of our coal. There is a wider recognition of the fact that our methods of using it as fuel are extravagant and wasteful, and that we get no adequate return of its potential value. We have realised that heat and power are bound, for at least some years to come, to cost us more than they did in pre-war years. This question affects everybody; it is, in fact, at the root of the country's well-being arid prosperity. We ought, therefore, to see that all possible means are taken to ensure that in its use we get the value of our coal. It is notorious that under our present systems we get only a fraction of that value. It is not too much to say that if the country's fuel were treated in accordance with the teaching of science its present high price would be largely, if not wholly, counterbalanced.
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References
Committee on Smoke and Noxious Vapours Abatement. Final Report. (London: H.M. Stationery Office, 1921.) 6d. net.
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Smoke Abatement1. Nature 108, 557–559 (1921). https://doi.org/10.1038/108557a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/108557a0