Air pollution is turning Mother nature prematurely grey.

Irv kupcinet

Humans can live three weeks without food, three days without water and just three minutes without air. Air is an indispensable part of our life. It is because of air that life has been possible on Earth. Yet, we humans are polluting that very essence of our lives.  And that too simply for hoarding wealth, which will be rendered useless if we cease to exist. 

We have been polluting the atmosphere in the name of development.  Is it really development, if it snatches away pure air from a new born child?  We must question our priorities. Which is more important for us and our children? Pure air and water or money?

Pollution should never be the price of prosperity.

AL Gore

Definitely, every sane, intelligent person would choose the latter. In spite of our knowledge and our understanding, we are failing our children. We are busy in our rat race to provide more than needed for ourselves.  Becoming more isolated each day and refusing to share. Now-a -days, each family member prefers to drive his or her own vehicle rather than share. The end result is more production, more waste generation and emissions, leading to increased  pollution.

Environmental pollution is an incurable disease. It can only be prevented.

Barry Commoner.

Air pollution is a global killer. An estimated 7 million people die due to diseases related to air pollution. Respiratory infections, asthma, stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, obstructive pulmonary disease- all are related to air pollution.

The main pollutants are nitrogen dioxide(NO₂), sulphur dioxide(SO₂), carbon dioxide emissions  (CO₂) , Ozone  (O₃), molds, particulate matters (PM). The particulate matters of less than 10 and 2.5 microns can penetrate into blood through the lungs and affect the whole system.

The short term as well as long term consequences of pollution on human health is immense. Polluted air affects our lungs, heart, brain, liver, spleen as well as the nervous system.  The effects are more on children and elderly as they are more susceptible to damages due to their low immune levels. Children breathe more than adults and breathe in more pollutants because of their short heights.

The Paris climate summit laid down rules for the global community to combat climate change. They aimed at keeping the global rise in temperature below 2 degrees, and take it to below 1.5 degrees within this century. There has been a 3 degrees rise in Arctic temperatures in the last century leading to massive melting down of glaciers. The emission of green house gases has been the prime cause of the rise in temperatures. (Green house gases like – CO₂, NO₂, O₃, CH₄, absorb and emit radiant energy within the thermal infrared range)

We are the perpetrators of air pollution, so the onus is on us to find the solution.

We must avoid unnecessary use of vehicles and use public transport and car pools.

We must avoid burning of leaves etc and make compost of them.

Farmers should refrain from burning stubble and use modern methods to turn them into compost.

Plant trees and keep indoor plants. Indoor plants are great air purifiers.

Use a bicycle or walk as much as possible, every step counts.

Jogging and exercise should be done in pollution free areas.

Children should be picked up in traffic congestion so that they are not at the same level as the emissions.

Regular indoor cleaning is a must as indoors are often more polluted than outdoors because of dust mites and molds.

Air pollution is a great equalizer. It does not differentiate between the rich and poor. Every person in a particular place will have to breathe in the same air. It is for us to see that the atmosphere remains unpolluted.  God has provided us with everything that we require to live. Let us not spoil the best things in our lives due to wrong perceptions and thinking pattern set by the society at large. For the truth is… we all need fresh and clean air simply to exist.

Water and air the two essential fluids on which our life depends have become global garbage cans.

– Jacques Cousteau.