Air pollution can kill you! It is not just from the factories, the fine particles that could kill you can come from the most usual of sources like the car that you drive with everyday. They are particularly dangerous to the health, causing more harm in the long run. Scientists have warned against the negative effects of exposure to air pollution for the past decades.
Governments around the world including power countries like the US have conducted an extensive review of the policies concerning the production of air pollutants. Air regulations have gradually been tightened especially in highly industrialized countries. Yet despite efforts, the World Health Organization (WHO) still released a report that estimates that the exposure to outdoor air pollution counts for more than $4.2 million deaths each year.
At a meeting last month, the science panel of advisors working with the US Environmental Protection Agency has pointed out the standards on air quality and how it is divided into fine particles in the air that causes premature deaths. Panel chair Tony Cox is a statistician and consultant whose research has been funded by the large players in the oil and gas industries. He has been one of the people who primary questioned the relationship of the deaths to air pollution.
Skepticism about how air pollution impacts the health is one of the reasons why a lot of companies continue to not follow the policies in place. However, earlier this month, the German National Academy for Sciences have released a report that says that the presence of Nitrogen Oxide in the air increases the rate of possible respiratory illnesses. The small particles build up in the body and it is only until when it is too late that the body begins to show signs of a lung problem.
The environmental regulations that have been put in place in the US serves as an inspiration for other countries. It is a reminder that they need to do the same thing. The question is no longer about how air pollution impacts the human health. Rather, it is directed towards how industries can continue what they do without producing more air pollutants. Questioning the impact won't make the problem go away. Rather It may get worse in the years to come.
The choking effects of pollution does not only cause deaths among humans, but also causing havoic to the environment and all its other key players. Major cities in India and China are suffering because industrialization undermines the whole concept of putting a halt in the production of air pollutants.
Now is not the time to question the efforts put in stopping air pollutants from killing more. It is time to strengthen the efforts and put an end to this world crisis.
