| We don't need scientists to tell us we | | | | prosperity. Quite a price to pay wouldn't |
| require 'air' to survive. The air we breathe | | | | you say! |
| has a gas called oxygen and without it there | | | | |
| would be no life period. Humans, plants and | | | | But air pollution doesn't stop in developing |
| animals all need oxygen to survive but | | | | countries. Here at home in the US, we are |
| although oxygen is a colorless, odorless, and | | | | often accused by the international community |
| tasteless, there are a lot of pollutants in | | | | as being the biggest emitter of greenhouse |
| the air which are not. Worse still, there | | | | gases worldwide. In addition to industrial |
| are a whole bunch of impurities indoors as | | | | pollution, millions of us have these big |
| well as outdoors, which is why ionic air | | | | automobiles which are all spewing out air |
| purifiers have become all the rage these | | | | contaminants and affecting the quality of the |
| days. But just how bad is bad when we talk | | | | air breathed as we walk around outside. |
| about the quality of the air we breathe? | | | | President George W bush has not agreed to |
| | | | reduce emissions at the time of writing this |
| Air pollution first got my attention when I | | | | article. He said it would be damaging to the |
| was visiting Hong Kong last year. My first | | | | US economy. He also went on to say that |
| impressions of this small country was that it | | | | developing countries were not required to cut |
| was clean, efficient, and very well organized | | | | their emissions so didn't see why the US had |
| despite the fact that its buildings and | | | | to do so at this time. |
| residents were so tightly packed in. As I | | | | |
| walked around the city areas, it was pretty | | | | Governments play a huge role in protecting |
| noisy and certainly bustling, but I didn't | | | | its citizens and the planet as a whole, but |
| think for one minute that there were any real | | | | we the little people, also have a duty to do |
| issues with pollution. That was until I read | | | | what we can in order to help improve the |
| an article in a local magazine which reported | | | | quality of the air we breathe, and that goes |
| that there were over 2000 deaths caused last | | | | for inside as well as out. In actual fact, |
| year through air pollution alone. | | | | our home and work environments may be |
| | | | damaging our health without us even realizing |
| I found this an incredible read. What does | | | | it. So many of us spend a high percentage of |
| it say for places like Bangkok in Thailand | | | | our time indoors, so the quality of the air |
| where you can almost chew on the air it's | | | | we breathe inside is very important. |
| that thick. My Thai physician here in the | | | | |
| USA, explained that Bangkok has lung cancer | | | | Air pollution isn't just a problem for poor, |
| rates which are about three times higher than | | | | undeveloped, or developing countries, it's a |
| the rest of the country, and its air | | | | global issue. If any of us care about our |
| pollution levels are some 14 times higher | | | | children, our children's children and their |
| than international health standards. He went | | | | children, then we humans as a race should sit |
| on to say that the city now has the sharpest | | | | up and take issue regarding the quality of |
| decline in life expectancy within South East | | | | the air we breathe as a very, very serious |
| Asia. The price of pollution in the Asia | | | | concern. Remember, the planet is in our |
| region seems to indicate these Eastern cities | | | | hands, and we only have the one. |
| are suffocating on their own economic | | | | |