Above us only sky

I was wondering around Oxford yesterday and took this optical illusion type picture of Blackwell Publishers. I also took another one of one of the buildings in the science park area, my friends prefer that one but I beg to differ and prefer this.


With its bright blue skies and fluffy clouds you could easily mistake Oxford as a place of clear crisp air. However, just as the Human's Oxford lies in paradox to the scholar's fairy tale city (see previous post), the brightness of the skies here mask an unnerving reality. Oxford is officially the most "weezy" city in the UK, with its city centre inhabitants inhaling an equivilent of 61 cigerettes a day in traffic fumes (nitrogen oxide). In comparisson Marylebone Road, considered London's most polluted area, would only force the equivielnt of 30 ciggies into your lungs. The government's target for Nitrogen Oxide levels is equivalent to smoking 12 ciggarettes a day. 12 cigerettes a day! My mother would kill me! Makes you think doesn't it.


References
Brown, P. (2004) "Taking the Oxford Air Adds up to 60-a-day Habbit" The Guardian (August 24th, 2004).
Available: http://environment.guardian.co.uk/waste/story/0,,1846007,00.html