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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 December 2014
It has recently been revealed that English common law played a certain role in dealing with the pollution problems that accompanied industrialization. This article explores the role of legal actions in solving environmental problems, not within a legal theory but in a larger framework of environmental politics. By focusing on legal actions, it is shown that the Act on Smoke Abatement of 1821 triggered smoke and noise nuisance lawsuits in London, especially against printers. The introduction of the steam press not only contributed to the production of cheap prints but also transformed the printing business into a polluting industry. Legal actions could sometimes remove a polluting business from a plaintiff's neighbourhood, though it also raised the problem of environmental inequality.
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