Our Threatened Freedom

How Bad is Pollution

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Political Studies

Lesson: 149-169

Genre: Conversation

Track: 149

Dictation Name: Vol. L - Part 06 - How Bad is Pollution

Location/Venue: Unknown

Year: 1980’s – 1990’s

[Dr. Rushdoony] How bad is pollution? This is R.J. Rushdoony with a report on our threatened freedom.

About a year ago I reported on the data concerning pollution in the United States in the days of the horse and buggy. I called attention to the millions of tons of manure which then filled American cities, the germs they bred, and the pollution they created.

Now I have some data on London in 1890. In those days, London, and all cities, had a constant aroma of ripe horse manure, floating as dust in the air in the summer, and as a wet sloppy mess in wet weather. The reports of the day indicate that foot traffic was, to say the least, difficult. The manure soup splashed up on everyone as the carriages went by. The Strand area has usually an 18 inch mess of liquid slop, which made for messy travel in an open buggy and for major problems for all pedestrians. This was not all. The noise pollution of horses was far greater than that of automobiles. The pounding of innumerable horse shoes, four to a horse, on the pavement was far more noisy than the sound of a motor. Moreover, wagon and buggy wheels did not have rubber tires, and were themselves noisy and often squeaky. Add to that the neighing of the horses, the shouts and curses of their drivers and the crack of whips, and you have bedlam. Of course if you want real pollution, go back 200 years to 1783. Cities then often had no sewers. American cities had an outhouse smell to them. In Europe in many cities, chamber pots were emptied into the street from upstairs windows. This made for very serious pollution for the unwary pedestrian underneath the window.

Now by comparison, we don’t know what pollution is today. This does not mean that we should not continue to improve our situation, but it does mean that the cause of truth and freedom has not been served by misrepresenting the problem. Technology has not increased, but has rather decreased pollution.

This has been R.J. Rushdoony with a report on our threatened freedom.