The German experience with damage to materials associated with air pollution

Material damage is an irreversible cumulative process. Growing plants have a cycle of generations: if air pollution decreases, the next plant generation will have better conditions. But the deterioration of the material of a cultural monument or of a medieval window, for example, can at best only be stopped. There is no "next generation" and present damage is irreversible. The teedback of materials damage is being seen in Germany affecting resources consumption and waste production. It is therefore consistent with an environmental rationale to reduce materials-even technical materials-damage due to air pollution, either by adapting the material into the environmental conditions or by improving air quality.