Recent events notwithstanding, significant problems lie ahead from increasing concentrations of some constituents of the lower atmosphere. Solutions depend not only on regulation but also on changes in the way environmental science is supported. THEREis a gas in the troposphere — the lowest 10 km or so of the atmosphere — that is worth singling out. Its background levels in the Northern Hemisphere have doubled over this century, and are now so high that fluctuations frequently take concentrationsover health and other damage thresholds, Much of it's chemistry is quite well understood, but there are significant uncertainties about its behaviour — its distribution around the globe and associated long-term tends, and factors underlying them. What is more, it neatly exemplifies a problem in the conduct of environmental research associated with developing countries.
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