Why did the speaker want to open the window in the small restaurant? [br] [orig

Is the world really going mad? The other day I was sitting in a small restaurant having a quiet drink and a talk with a few friends, when it suddenly struck me that almost everyone in the restaurant was smoking. (14) It wasn’t long before the whole room was filled with smoke. I asked with an apology for permission to open a window to stop myself dying.
    Nowadays air pollution is something that we hardly question any more. However, I still can’t walk down the streets in any of the big cities without thinking that people are suffering from the air pollution. (16) It is time for the government departments the world over to introduce emission control on all cars and improve the public transport system to encourage people to leave their cars at home. A friend of mine takes flying lessons each morning and it really makes him sick when he climbs above the smog layer and looks down in it and thinks: "I’m breathing that!" This kind of pollution results from the bad management of resources. Waste things can, and should, be treated properly. (17) House building, road construction and industrial development are all earth-moving operations and can change the balances of life created over millions of years. I would like to see serious studies done on all these main works before they are built. Also, there should be more national parks set up to keep the most beautiful parts of our countries in their natural states.