TEST Tidbits: Air Pollution and Our Health

The cost of dirty air is enormous. In 2019, air pollution, both indoors and outdoors, was said to have caused around 7 million deaths worldwide. The leading pollutants causing the most problems are sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ground-level ozone layers, and particles that are inhaled into the lungs or caught in the upper respiratory system.

Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide come from the burning of fossil fuels for energy and factory emissions. Sulfur dioxide can also come from volcanic activity.

Ground-level ozone is caused when emissions from vehicles and industries mix with sunshine, causing a chemical reaction.

The list of health problems caused by these pollutants is long and costly to treat (both for health systems and from a quality-of-life perspective.

Learn more here about ground-level ozone and the risks, including cancer, of long-term exposure to pollutants.

The 1970 Clean Air Act did clean the terrible pollution of that time and still is a deterrent to would-be polluters today. However, global warming has made wildfires more frequent, and they more often burn in urban areas where the items burned put more toxins in the air. Some loopholes have been found to skirt around regulations and the Clean Air Act has been under attack. Another article will be devoted to what can be done to reduce these pollutants and to protect the common air we all need for a healthy life.

Earth steward action: Walk more, drive less, don't idle your car unnecessarily, consider an electric or hybrid when you purchase a new vehicle.

Source: National Geographic Magazine, April 2021 issue. Articles dealing with the topic were written by Beth Gardiner and Cynthia Gorney.