Blog 7: New Findings on Air Pollution

Summary: One of the biggest environment risk for today would be air pollution which results in one in eight deaths. New research has increased the amount of deaths by double and seven million deaths a year are attributed to air pollution. Approximately, a large sixty one percent of air-pollution related deaths in 2012 all cooked over coal or wood. Last year the World Trade Organization deemed air pollution as a type of carcinogen. Air pollution is is detrimental to health due to little particles going deep into the lungs which causes inflammation and is also believed to increase rates of stroke, heart disease and cancer.

Analysis: Air pollution causes terrible problems to the health of those around it, especially in heavily populated areas. New research from the World Trade Organization shows that one in eight deaths is due to air pollution and is even believed to be a risk factor for heart disease, stroke and cancer. The largest amount of pollution to new findings also points to indoor pollution which can occur when a family cooks with wood or coal. The World Trade Organization also pointed out that women and children were also the most likely to suffer from indoor air pollution due to more likely spending more time at home. Poverty is also a large factor when in relation due to air pollution due to poverty becoming more and more common in such urbanized areas. Urbanization and areas around the globe have cities more suseptable to air pollution from power stations, burning rubbish and even emissions from agriculture. Areas with poor life styles also lead to high air pollutants which are often over crowded, lack of sanitation as well as tobacco use which are all negative factors. Hopefully, air pollution will begin to be seen as a harsh reality that greatly affects human health and new measures will be taken. Education about the need for not only proper ventilation but also new procedures and codes will be enforced for not only our health but also the earth's.

Source: http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/opinion/2014/3/28/51005/Air-pollution-causing-one-in-eight-deaths

High Levels of Air Pollution in Madrid

Madrid’s High Levels of Air Pollution

This week’s article is about extremely high levels of air pollution in Madrid, Spain.  Residents of Madrid are experiencing toxic pollution from motor vehicles, which is what makes up three-fourths of the total air pollution in the city.  The claim is that pollution levels regularly exceed European mandated levels of gases and particles.  Recent studies have shown that air pollution is linked to cancer and other diseases, so the residents of Madrid are often worried about their health.  In fact, a small increase in particles of air pollution results in an increase in the number of people admitted to the hospital for circulatory and respiratory illnesses.  Researchers are linking two types of particles in air pollution to the populations’ health as a whole and find that the effects of the particles are closely related to the size of the particles. 

Not surprisingly, people with asthma are at great risk living in Madrid.  Pollution is also linked to low birth weight in babies, which was presented in one of my blogs earlier this year.  According to the World Health Organization, air pollution shortens lives by an average of 8.6 months, where people are primarily affected by cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and lung cancer. 

To combat this social health issue, city officials of Madrid enacted an air-quality plan last year that calls for low-emission zones and promotion of electric cars, public transportation and bicycle usage.  This plan, if regulated and enforced, should reduce the air pollution in this beautiful Spanish city.   There is controversy over the statistics reporting Madrid’s success in reducing pollution.  They claim to have reduced the sulfur dioxide levels, but many people accuse the government of fixing the data.

Since I have started this blog, I have noticed that many mega cities around the globe suffer from poor air quality, and it is usually caused from the excessive amount of motor vehicles.  Beijing is experiencing toxic level of air pollution because of the overpopulation streets with vehicles letting off toxic omissions.  Madrid is experiencing the same effect.  The streets are becoming more populated with motor vehicles, which results in poorer air quality for the city.  Residents of air polluted cities such as these are put at a greater risk for diseases and cancer.  What are they to do?  The city provides jobs, and most people need to live in or near the city to commute to work.  They do not have the choice to get up and move to a more rural area, with fresh air and not as much pollution.  This would be my ideal solution for reducing my risk of cancer and disease caused by air pollution. 

Carly Taylor

April 12, 2013  3:20 PM

http://www.dw.de/madrid-air-pollution-reaches-alarming-levels/a-16739363

License plate restrictions in China to reduce air pollution

License plate restrictions in China to reduce air pollution

China is still in struggle to reduce the amount of air pollution caused by traffic congestion.  This week’s article is about reducing the number of license plates auctioned in order to reduce the amount of cars on the road.  License plate rationing was put into place in order to control and reduce traffic congestion.  The prices of license plates can be very high, with some going for as much as a cheap Chinese car.  This month’s auction contained 9,000 plates, with a cost of nearly $14,500. 

This high price will keep most of the population from gaining a license plate.  Chinese people are saying the time is now to get a license plate, because the price just keeps rising.  Several cities in China are considering ways to reduce air pollution, which include congestion fees, auctions or plate lotteries.  Limited license plates will reduce the number of cars on the road, and will contribute to fixing the terrible air quality in China. 

The root of this traffic congestion problem comes from weak enforcement of traffic laws, lack of parking, and inconvenient public transportation.  Even with Tokyo and New York having more cars per capita than Beijing, this city still has way more traffic congestion.

Reducing traffic congestion in busy cities will greatly help the air quality in China.  If people are limited from buying a license plate, wither because of the high price of the unavailability, there will be less acrs on the road, which contributes to less air pollution.  Peoples cars isn’t the only factor that contributes to the poor air quality.  Public transportation and poor city planning also affect the air quality of China.  If measures aren’t taken to better these factors, the air quality will continue to diminish.   

Carly Taylor

March 22, 2013  4:55 pm

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/chinese-ration-license-plates-in-effort-to-curb-traffic-congestion-air-pollution/2013/03/22/bd99ebe6-9313-11e2-8ea1-956c94b6b5b9_story.html

Wood burning in Bay Area causes pollution

Spare the Air in Bay Area, San Jose

In Bay Area, San Jose, the federal government has set a fine particle health standard that restricts how much wood you can burn.  The government claims that this standard will help reduce air polluting particles which are related to triggering asthma and emphysema attacks that can lead to heart attack.  A program called Spare the Air has been set into place to promote the reduction of wood burning in Bay Area.  There is controversy over the rule of outlawing wood fires because many people use wood burning to heat their homes and they believe that burning wood doesn’t pollute the air.  The Spare the Air program attempts to inform these people that wood burning does pollute the air and wood burning should be restricted during declared Spare the Air days.  With the Spare the Air program in place, wood smoke has continued to decrease in the region.  This season, the district cited 178 burn violators.  This number is far lower than the previous seasons 234 violators, and the two seasons before that with 359 violations, showing successful outcomes of the program.    

Putting a regulated requirement on wood burning fires helps to reduce air pollution.  Bay Area’s Spare the Air program has taken a step forward in controlling air quality.  The program should try to focus on expanding across regions and hopefully gain national attention in order to spread the awareness of air pollution problems.  This article provides reader with a graph on the number of violators over the past few years in Bay Area, San Jose.  A graph helps the reader to become more familiar with and better understand the content of the article.  Most people probably do not consider that burning something as natural as wood would cause any danger in air quality.   That is why the Spare the Air program should expand across the country and spread their message. 

Carly Taylor

March 7, 2013  10:25 PM

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_22733386/how-much-smoke-pollution-did-we-create-during