A concise appraisal of our contemporary status and future prospects with regard to air pollution and its control are offered in this text for concerned laymen. What air pollution is, how it endangers health, the cost of controlling it, what is being done about it now, and what should be done are some of the basic questions considered. Topics cover the earth's atmosphere, synergestic effects, oxides of carbon/hydrogen/sulfur, particulate pollution, sources of air pollution, control of particulate emission, control of invisible emission, toxicology and epidemiology of air pollution, and legal and economic aspects. As for the future, air pollution is viewed as a product of high population density, high motor vehicle density, urbanization, and industrialization. And the worldwide trend is toward more and more of the same. (BL)