the slightest reflection allows one to realize that no accident , no aberration , no fortuitous series of happenings can explain why and how one would create from scratch a belt of distasteful and dangerous smells and fumes all along one of the most important cities in the world , which is affected by that pollution to a degree nowhere equaled , except perhaps in fabulous california ; a pollution that shortens everybodys life , creates at times a thick unbreathable atmosphere , constitutes an everyday danger , is everyday denounced by newspapers , government agencies , and even by industries such as con edison itself , yet remains and even increases in level from year to year .