Afmospheric Environmenr Vol. 22. No. 6, p.
i. 1988.
ooob6%1/88 $3.00 + 0.00 Pergamon Press plc
Printed in Great Britain.
EDITORIAL 40th ANNIVERSARY
OF PERGAMON
PRESS
D. J. MOORE It is perhaps appropriate that in the year in which Pergamon Press celebrates its 40th anniversary, _&nos,&eric E~vir~~rne~t is completing 30 years of continuous publication. This journal, which began its life as The lnter~~ti~n~l journal @Air P~~lut~o~, developed wider interests as Air and Water Foliation from 1960 to 1966 and finally assumed its present title in 1967. During the whole of this time it has appeared in its distinctive livery; a narrow orange stripe, representing the light transmitted through the dust and nuclei near the ground and a wider blue area, characterizing the molecular scattering in the bulk of the atmosphere. These panels are topped by a white band, the ‘colour’ of the light at the top of the atmosphere. The Journal was started on the initiative of Robert Maxwell and Dick Scorer, presently President of the Royal Meteorological Society, supported by Gordon Nonhebel, Arnie Haagen-Smit, who should perhaps be remembered as the father of Los Angeles smog and John Pemberton. Jim Lodge was a member of the original Editorial Advisory Board and he will complete 30 years as an Executive Editor next year. His book reviews have been a feature of the Journal for much of that time Early volumes averaged about 350 pages on subjects related to the atmosphere. This has now increased to about 3000 pages a year. Many interesting articfes have appeared in the Journal, one which was perhaps most in tune with current thinking was Jim Lovelock’s ‘Gaia as seen through the atmosphere’. This appeared in 1972 and pre-dated his famous book by seven years. We have been lucky to have him as a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for over 10 years and for the help given by well over a hundred other Associate Editors since the Journal first appeared. Long-serving Executive Editors have included Werner Klug and currently Michel Benarie. Halstead Harrison replaced Michael Wilson and he in turn has been succeeded by Bob Bornstein, who is concentrating on papers on the urban atmosphere. These papers will appear in three issues a year, beginning in 1989. It will then be possible to subscribe to Urban Atmosphere separately or as part of Atmospheric Environment. In the first few years after I replaced Dick Scorer as Chief Executive Editor, Editorial Board meetings were still attended by Robert Maxwell in person, or if he could not get there, by Gilbert Richards, Having Bob there certainly enlivened the proceedings. In recent years the Journal has included issues comprising selected papers presented at a series of meetings on pollution problems in rapidly developing Pacific rim countries, the second of which is to be held in Tokyo in October, 1988. The first of another series of meetings, this time on pollution problems in developing tropical countries, was held in New Delhi last February and papers selected from those presented there will appear in the Journal early next year. It was clear from this meeting that fossil carbonbased energy systems, certainly, and uranium based energy systems, probably, are not capable of meeting the aspirations of the bulk of the world population. Furthermore, the continued use of coal and volatile organic fuels is creating a whole range of long-term pollution problems. Robert Maxwell and those of us who have supported the Journal for over a quarter of a century have seen the old London-type smogs largely disappear in developed countries. However, this improvement has been accompanied by increased acid deposition, accumulation of long-lived carbon gases in the air, too much oxidant in the troposphere and too little in the stratosphere. These problems appear to be due in large part to the use of volatile organic compounds as fuels, solvents and aerosol propellants. Control of emissions of acid precursors may exacerbate rather than relieve these problems. The rapid development of sustainable processes and energy systems and a proper appreciation of the new spectrum of air pollution problems associated with them must become the major preoccupation of contributors to this Journal if it is to maintain a leading position for the next quarter of a century. There is still just about time for us to point it in this direction before we hand over to our successors. At the same time we must find ways to make journals like this one affordable in all places and countries where the information contained in them would be of benefit. I am sure that with the continued help and interest of Robert Maxwell we shall be able to do this,