Way back in 1662,John Evelyn,a brilliant Englishman known for his detailed diaries,wrote 

About disastrous effects of coal-burning on the city of London .In it,he described an infernal scene of 

smog.air filled with "Columns and Clouds of Smoke''given out by small industries and residences 

that burned coal for fuel. 

I found the description in the 2003 book When Smoke Ran like Water,by epidemiologist and environmental advocator Devra Davis.In it,Davis looks back at several historic pollution events and their disastrous effect on human human health-and at how these phenomena were often Ignored or even actively covered up by then people in charge at that time. 

As Davis points out,John Evelyn was ahead of his time when writing about how London's 

polluted air affected the well-being of its residents.It wasn't until nearly 300 years later,after what 

became well-known as the Great Smog of 1952,that the government began to address the problem in a systematic way. 

For four days.Between December 5th"and 9th",due to all accident of the weather pattern,the city 

was buried in a heavy fog .People were still burning coal for fuel,and low-grade coal at that time, 

because 0f wartime condition.A temperature inversion trapped the smoke from the city's fires, 

creating a black cloud in which people could barely find their way down the most familiar streets 

Some tried to protect themselves,but most people simply went about their business 

But l952's fog was far worse than any other in memory.In the same week of the previous year, 

1852 people had died in London;inl952,that number was 4703 And the deaths didn't stop when 

the weather changed and the fog lifted.Davis and her colleagues analyzed data from the next several 

months and found that about 13000 more people died between December and March than one would 

have predicted from historical averages Many of them died of pneumonia .The government, 

she writes.Tried to blame a bad flu season.Her detailed analysis found that explanation simply did 

not pan out. 

Davis writes that even today in this country ,we still have not completely absorbed the lessons 

0f similar events.Sixty years the killer fog lifted in London,people are dying preventable 

deaths and suffering life.changing illnesses,simply because they must breathe the air of the cities 

where they live QUESTIONS:

Q1:
1. What is Devra Davis's profession?
2. What does Devra Davis do for a living?
3. 
Q2:
1. What is the title of the book that Devra Davis wrote?
2. What book did Devra Davis write?
3. 
Q3:
1. When did Devra Davis write his book?
2. What year did Devra Davis write his book?
3. 
Q4:
1. What is Devra Davis' book about?
2. What topic does Devra Davis' book address?
3. 
Q5:
1. What did Devra Davis point out about John Evelyn?
2. What did Devra David say regarding John Evelyn?
3. 
Q6:
1. During what year did the Great Smog occur?
2. The Great Smog occured during what year?
3. 
Q7:
1. Does Devra Davis believe that society has learned a lesson from the Great Smog?
2. Has the Great Smog taught society a lesson according to Devra Davis?
3. 
Q8:
1. What is John Evelyn known for?
2. John Evelyn is known for doing what?
3. 
Q9:
1. Is John Evelyn Irish?
2. Does John Evelyn come from Ireland?
3. 
Q10:
1. Where is John Evelyn from?
2. What country is John Evelyn from?
3. 
Q11:
1. What did John Evelyn write about?
2. John Evelyn wrote about what topic?
3. 
Q12:
1. What did John Evelyn write about in his diaries regarding coal-burning?
2. John Evelyn wrote about what type of effects that coal-burning had in his diaries?
3. 
Q13:
1. John Evelyn wrote about the disastrous effects of what source of energy production?
2. What energy source did John Evelyn say had disastrous effects?
3. 
Q14:
1. Columns of smoke were given out by which people according to John Evelyn?
2. John Evelyn believes that columns of smoke were given out by which people?
3. 
Q15:
1. Why were industries and residences burning coal?
2. What was the purpose of burning coal by industries and residences?
3. 
