The factory chimneys were being demolished and thanks to the Clean Air Act we had seen the end of the smogs (during the smogs you couldn't see anything). Our beaches were being cleaned up and a little later the open sewers that fed directly into the sea were controlled.
As time went by the deadly chemicals that used to be ubiquitous (lead in paint and petrol, DDT everywhere in agriculture and gardening, the rotten eggs smells that sulphur gave off in many industrial complexes) were cleaned up or removed.
Not today. Today we are all malthusians, fearful of the future and certain that things are getting worse all the time.
Every day we hear of new wonders: drugs, cures, computer systems, automation, robots, you name it. Yet we focus on the destruction that is being caused to our poor world. And yes, bad things are happening. But you need confidence and optimism to face the future and make it better.
Cheer up. Loosen those chains of misery. You only live once, thank God!
Image stolen from https://undergroundhistories.wordpress.com/a-catalogue-of-the-textile-mills-and-factories-of-the-huddersfield-area-c-1790-1914-part-two/