Category: Air Pollution

Nitrogen containing compounds could be the “missing link” in the formation of haze particles that have plagued China. It is yet another typical morning, your alarm clock goes off and you slowly get up, ready for your morning routine. All of a sudden, your nose detects a strong, acrid burning smell, as if your neighbour is starting up his charcoal grill. You march up to the window and fling the curtains open, ready to lecture your pesky neighbour. Instead of your usual view, something far more sinister greets you. A fog-like entity drapes the landscape, dimming the morning sun and you can almost see dust-like particles floating in the air. This is no ordinary fog, it’s haze.

This is a sight that people living in North China Plain (NCP) would have to face annually during winter. Haze is a concoction of multiple toxic substances and would adversely affect people who have chronic heart or lung diseases. Its severity is based on the concentration of particular matter of less than 2.5 micrometre (otherwise known as PM2.5). That means that haze blanketing the cities consist of ultrafine particles that damages your lungs should you inhale it in large quantities. During the 2013 haze event in NCP, daily PM2.5 concentration soared to hazardous levels, forcing Chinese residents to take desperate measures to protect themselves.

A group of Chinese researchers led by Yafang Cheng, an academic researcher at the Max Plank Institute for Chemistry, found that current air quality models are unable to accurately measure another toxin, sulfates. Sulfates are known to be a major component of haze particles. Current models measure sulfate concentrations when it’s produced through photochemical reactions (chemical reactions that occur in the presence of light) of airborne molecules. During the 2013 haze, much of the light had been blocked out by haze, reducing photochemical reactions. This should have lowered sulfate production, which is supposed to be good news. Instead, astonishingly high sulfate concentrations were observed by Cheng’s team as compared to concentrations recorded by current models. This meant we would be exposed to significantly more toxic air than reported levels. How and why did this happen? “(The) increased sulfate production suggests the existence of a missing sulfate production pathway but the chemical mechanism for this has not yet been identified”, explained Cheng. Without knowledge of this unknown reaction, current air quality models weren’t able to factor these values in, resulting in under-reported sulfate concentrations.

In search of the “missing link”, Cheng and her team began the process of sampling and analysing the polluted air using state-of-the-art equipment. This equipment could be thought as your everyday vacuum cleaners with multiple sensors embedded, allowing them to take accurate PM2.5 concentrations in the polluted air. Together with advanced weather prediction software, they were finally able to piece together the “missing link”. This came in the form of a chemical model between nitrogen-containing compounds, primarily Nitrogen Dioxide, NO2 (produced when fuels or coal are burnt at high temperatures) and clouds.

Taking into account the reduced photochemistry as well as rising PM2.5 concentrations in NCP, a high concentration of NO2 was found. This led to NO2, being the primary pollutant, to be subjected to a chemical reaction with clouds to form sulfate particles. Though this reaction was suggested by earlier studies to occur in fogs under polluted conditions, no fog was observed during the 2013 haze by Cheng and her team. This meant that “a new and more comprehensive conceptual model of sulfate formation” has been discovered.

Known for burning large amounts of coal annually, China is infamous for their air pollution. The New York Times have reported that air pollution in China accounts for 366,000 premature deaths in 2013. This is no mere coincidence as 2013 was also the year where sulfate and PM2.5 concentrations skyrocketed in NCP, prompting the researchers to carry out this study. With this model, Cheng remarked that reducing NO2 emissions should reduce sulfate and PM2.5 concentrations much more than predicted by current air quality models. China should now be able to implement policies using this knowledge in hopes of allowing their residents to enjoy clear skies.

Other countries, primarily those affected by haze, could also study this model, preventing their citizens from suffering the same fate as NCP. The scientific community could gleam new insights from this model, allowing them to calibrate air quality models to improve its accuracy, allowing us to plan our outdoor activities accordingly.Before you rush out to buy cartons of industrial-grade masks in preparation of haze, remember that we can also do our part to reduce NO2 emissions. Some ways include taking the public transport instead of driving. Sacrificing some of these luxuries prevent us from wearing a mask or carrying an oxygen tank every time we go out.

For decades our environment has been deteriorating due to all of the pollution around us. There are many different types of pollution. It affects us as humans, our living organisms, and our planet itself. Pollution is the cause of climate change and the reason many animal species have gone extinct because their habitats are being ruined by pollution. The pollution in our air is the main aspect of climate change, due to the fossil fuels causing our atmosphere to increase in temperature. If we do not act fast and begin working to clean up our environment we are putting not only animals in danger but the health of people as well. We are the ones causing the pollution and we need to be the ones to try to correct our mistakes.

One of our biggest issues with pollution is in our oceans, a lot of pollutants collect in our oceans creating many issues for our sea life. Common man-made pollutants that reach the ocean include pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, detergents, oil, industrial chemicals and sewage. Many of these pollutants are released into the environment far upstream from the coastlines. Nutrient-packed fertilizers, for example, often end up in local streams and are eventually deposited into estuaries and bays. These excess nutrients trigger massive blooms of algae that rob the water of oxygen, leaving dead zones where few marine organisms cannot live. Not only are these chemical spills affecting our marine life but there is light pollution in the ocean that can also affect fish living in shallow reefs, the artificial light can disrupt normal cues like timing of migration, feeding and reproducing. Ocean pollution not only poses danger to sea life but humans as well. When small organisms consume microplastics the toxic chemicals become part of their tissues. The microplastics then migrate up the food chain eventually becoming part of the food we as humans consume. Prior to 1972 humans worldwide disposed of their trash, sewage and radioactive wastes into our oceans, millions of tons of garbage were tossed into our oceans without a second thought. To this day our oceans are still flooded with landfill.

Air pollution is a mix of particles that can make harmful concentrations outside and indoors. Some air pollutants such as smoke, mold and carbon dioxide can be very dangerous for our environment as well as humans. Pollution in the air can give a better chance to contract respiratory disease as well as increasing the temperature of our atmosphere. Indoor smoke is an ongoing health threat to the 3 billion people who cook and heat their homes by burning biomass, kerosene, and coal. Although poor air conditions indoors are dangerous, worldwide poor outdoor air has caused 4.2 million premature deaths just in 2016. Nearly 134 million people are at risk of disease and premature death due to air pollution. In the United States the air quality has quickly declined over time with studies showing there are 15% more days with unhealthy air in the country in 2017 and 2018 compared to 2013 to 2016’s averages. Humans in our time have added enough carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the past 150 years to raise its levels higher than they have been for hundreds of thousands of years. To avoid global warming there is much that could be done such as replacing gasoline fueled cars with electric cars. Even small things like walking places or taking the bus to reduce the amount of smoke being pumped into our air which in the end makes a difference.

Animals are affected by pollution due to destruction of the ozone and global warming conditions that not only have an effect on animals but makes their whole habitat endangered. An unfit habitat creates many challenges for animals to live properly and be able to reproduce and thrive to their fullest. After the Exxon Valdez oil spill that happened over 2 decades ago in the Gulf of Alaska, there were over 100,000 seabirds that died as well as 1,000 sea otters that died due to the pollution in the ocean. Pollution in our oceans are not the only things hurting animals, pollution in the air affects animals similar to how it affects humans. Exposure to air pollution can affect the animals’ lungs and cardiovascular systems as well. Air pollutants can poison wildlife through the disruption of endocrine function, organ injury, increased vulnerability to stresses and diseases, lower reproductive success, and possible death. Littering is also a great danger to animals, if consuming garbage it can be very bad even fatal to animals if they consume broken glass or a rusted nail. Animals can easily choke on plastics which can cause choking and kill the animal. With littering the garbage can poison soil, if animals in just plants that have had soil contamination it can make them very sick and could even cause serious disease.

To conclude the essay, our society needs to work harder to keep pollution out of our oceans, off our grounds and try to reduce the amount in our air. We cannot afford to continue on the way we have been for years upon years. Our animals are in danger, our environment is in danger, our whole planet is in danger. Pollution surrounds us, every little way to reduce how much is produced counts. If we do not take action our resources will continue to vanish at rapid rates. Studies show that climate change is threatening water resources for 1.9 billion people, soon enough those numbers will continue to grow if we don’t take action. Animals, humans and our planet are suffering due to our actions, we need to be the ones to save our planet.

Air pollution is a significant issue we face in the modern world, especially those who live in large cities. Two factors further compound these dangers. The first is the visibility of the pollution as the human eye cannot see most pollutants. It leaves people unaware of any possible threat, for example, it is estimated that the average Londoner loses over “16 months of their life at the city’s current pollution levels” (Somerset House, 2018). The second factor is the body’s ability to adjust to the levels of pollution. As the longer people live in these cities, the less they notice odors and substances linked to pollution. However, this does not mean that it does not affect them, the UN estimates that “7 million people die prematurely because of poor air quality”. Furthermore, air pollution has more significant consequences on the environment, as dust particles carried by the wind over long distances can compromise water supplies and increase desertification, drought, and soil salinity. This essay will discuss and analyze the work of 3 contemporary practitioners as they respond to the issue of air pollution. First will be Michael Pinsky’s ‘Pollution Pods’, Banksy’s mural ‘Season’s Greetings’, and finally the performance artist Nut Brother’s ‘Project Dust’. This essay will compare and contrast their aims, methods, and public reception of their work to see how effective they were in achieving their goal and raising awareness of the issue, supporting these assessments with the theoretical analysis.

‘Pollution Pods’ by Michael Pinsky

Commissioned in 2018 by the Norwegian University for Science and Technology, Michael Pinsky’s installation called ‘Pollution Pods’ is comprised of five domes that recreate the atmospheric conditions of five major cities around the world, starting with the cleanest Tautra Norway, containing an air purifier, then London, New Delhi, Beijing and finally Sao Paulo.

The pods aimed to encourage mindfulness around the topic of air pollution and to consider the impact of consumerism on densely populated cities. In this way, it can be said that the pods were effective. The nature of the installation actively invites the audience to engage with it. It makes the experience more personal, and installation becomes about the relationship between the individual and the environment that surrounds them.

Furthermore, the impact of the installation is heightened by its structure. Pinsky isolated each dome so it would have a very strong, visceral impact on you, which was effective, the New York Times, because people could be seen scrunching their faces and covering their noses as they moved from the Sao Paulo pod to the Tautra pod. The ‘visceral’ shock to the body as the air breathed in becomes polluted with chemicals making it harder to breathe is something that will be remembered for longer than something that is merely observed. The pods seemed to have been effective in achieving Pinsky’s aims, as they attracted much positive attention from both the public and the press with articles praising it for ‘shedding light’ on the varying levels of pollution around the world. One visitor stated: “It’s nasty, you don’t notice it much out there, but if it’s really that bad it’s dangerous, and we should be worried” (Yeginsu, 2018).

The installation was initially exhibited in Somerset House, the area is known historically as one of the most polluted areas in London. The pods have also been exhibited in various locations around, from Portland, and Melbourne to Manchester. This is effective as it allows people to not only judge the quality of air in the separate pods but also compare the air quality in their local area with those of the pods. As one visitor stated, “London and Florida have very different air quality. I can’t here. I tried…and I almost died of coughing” (Yeginsu, 2018).

Banksy’s Mural ‘Season’s Greetings’

After a message from a Port Talbot resident, complaining about the dust created by the local steelworks, the double-sided mural was found on the walls of a garage. On one side, it depicts a child playing joyfully in the some with their young stuck out tasting the snow, however, when the other side is examined, the context is expanded, and the snow is revealed to be the ash and particulate matter from a burning bin. The mural is a commentary on the industrial history of the town.

While the mural did not receive much attention initially, when it was revealed to be a Banksy piece, it gained a lot of media attention, which highlights a key strength and weakness. While the name of banks brought much attention to the town and helped to spotlight the issue, the spectacle of a new Banksy piece seems to have eclipsed the message of the piece. For example, the owner of the garage said: “I didn’t think much of it at the time, I knew a little about Banksy, but I never thought it would be him” (Marchese, 2018). Furthermore, another resident said: “There were people coming here all night. I am very pleased, I think it’s a smashing bit of artwork” (Marchese, 2018). From this, it seems that while a lot of people are interested in the piece, they are not taking away the message of the piece. They are there to marvel at the work of a world-famous artist, meaning much of this attention will inevitably fade away after the subsequent Banksy piece. In addition to this, the piece was later sold to gallery owner and Banksy’s aficionado Ian Lewis, who would display it in the town center and then move it to a gallery. The move to the town center would significantly increase the number of people who would be able to see it. However, placing it in a gallery would remove context from the mural, it merely becomes another work of art to be marveled at for a few minutes before the viewer would move on to the next piece.

Compared to the previous piece, this piece is also impersonal there, it tries to engage the audience in thought by first showing positive imagery and then revealing a darker scene. However, it does not require the audience to be much more than spectators, which will not leave as much of an impact on them as being able to experience this pollution firsthand.

‘Project Dust’ by Nut Brother

In 2016, over 100 days, the performance artist Wang Renzheng, known as Brother Nut, traveled the streets of China with an industrial vacuum, collecting smog and dust from the air. Upon completion, he took what he had collected and mixed it with clay, he then had it baked into a brick, which would be used in a building. This was done to raise awareness of the ongoing air pollution problem facing many of China’s cities said to be responsible for over “4000 deaths a year” (Phillips, 2015).

Each day he would ask a stranger to take a picture of himself and post this on social media Weibo along with the date, weather, and time. In an era when so many and so frequently use social media, this is an effective way of getting people to pay attention and follow along to find out the next location.

Also, by making the smog into a brick, it creates a tangible element to the pollution that people are breathing, showing them physically just how much smog and dust they’d breathe over 100 days, it is unsettling and shocking. In addition to this, the act of walking around a city with an industrial vacuum is likely to make people think about the air around them. However, this method has its limitations, because while the outlandish nature of the performance piece, draws a lot of attention to it, it may put people who aren’t already concerned off, dismissing it as another crazy artist doing something strange for attention.

Summary

In conclusion, after examining these three works they all seem to have their strengths and their weaknesses, though Pinskys left the most. Pinsky’s installation took a very direct approach to the issue of air pollution, bringing the pollution directly to the audience and allowing them to feel the effects for themselves. Though this can be said in some way about ‘Project Dust’ by providing a physical form for the pollution, however, unlike Pinsky’s ‘Pollution Pods’, there is little interaction with the audience, similar to ‘Season’s Greetings’, which is one of the key differences between the three. Pinsky’s pods are an experience and so the parts of said experience, e.g., the smells, the feeling of the smoke entering the lungs, the coughing, and the difficulty breathing, remain with you. The second key difference would be its focus on the issue, for example, whilst the pollution in Port Talbot was discussed in many media stories, they seemed to focus much of their attention on Banksy himself. This is not to say that the others are not effective at spreading awareness, as they all gained mass media attention.

SA long journey starts with a single step. What started four years ago as a journey to prosperity has achieved its mark? How did it go that fast? It appears to me like it was just yesterday when the high school journey was starting. You’ve had to wake up at six in the morning. You are now upperclassmen willing and ready to embrace the future and the challenges that come with it. The new stage of adulthood comes with even greater challenges. With the new found freedom comes even greater responsibilities. It is time to make the world a better place with your little contributions.

Our actions have brought a lot of change on the planet. This has resulted in environmental problems. The increase in the level of industrialization and the growth in population has changed the interaction between people and the environment. Modern technology has severely degraded the environment. There is growth in untreated household wastes which does not make the situation any better. A look into our own livelihoods and we realize the level of pollution we cause to the environment. We dispose of household wastes without seeing the need to treat it. This pollutes the air that we all breathe. We do this without bearing in mind the consequences that come with living in a polluted environment. Researchers have emphasized that a person who lives in polluted air are highly susceptible to contracting lung cancer. Yet we continue dumping and polluting the air and suffering from this diseases. Children are the worst affected. Ironically they do not contribute to this pollution. They, however, are more prone to contracting respiratory problems from the pollution of their older siblings and even their parents.

In order to derive a solution to this problem, it’s important to look at the root cause of the pollution. Who is responsible for this pollution? Isn’t it better that we prevent the pollution instead of folding our arms and blaming the government? Can the government succeed in curbing pollution if there is no will power from the citizens? In order to understand the problem deeper we need to look at the statistics. According to Roppolo, an estimated 60 percent of citizens in the United States live in polluted air. These citizens live in areas where the air pollution has reached to an unhealthy level to even cause diseases. Statistics also indicate that water sources in the United States are severely polluted. According to Roppolo, the figure stands at about 40% of the lakes and about 50% of the rivers.

A look at this figures sounds an alarm on the danger that we face. The new technologies and the government have chipped in to try and reduce pollution. Despite the rise in the number of vehicles being driven, pollution from nitrogen dioxide has reduced significantly. This can be attributed to government regulations and new technological innovations. The modern car emits lower volumes of nitrogen pollutants compared to the ancient car. According to Roppolo, in the city of New York pollution has decreased by about 32 %. According to Roppolo, the state of Atlanta has also cut down pollution with about 42%. Deliberate efforts have also gone a long way in cutting down the level of pollution. The integrated waste management is one of such programs. The program seeks to deal with solid municipal wastes. It does this by making use of disposal mechanisms that are harmless to the environment. It also seeks to reduce the level of waste in the country. Non-governmental organizations have been conducting training and enlightening people on how best to reduce pollution.

In an actual sense, we have miles to cover to ensure that the environment is restored. By having a vision about what we want for our nation we can each be able to sacrifice for the better good. As you move on to the world it is important that you learn from the past in order to face the future with confidence. According to Roppolo, the generation of World War II had a brighter vision about the future. They saw the world that was ruled by dictators and one that was free from dictators. A world full of dictators would mean that the society had been oppressed and no free thinking. On the other hand, a generation free of dictators would ensure the prosperity of all individuals. They engaged in a battle and a series of battles to secure the future. According to Roppolo, this future was for generations that would come. The generation put everything on the line from the economies of the industrial capabilities. Some paid the ultimate price with their lives and died in the process. In fact, this is referred to as the deadliest conflict in human history. Each one of them gave up individual goals such as comfort to fight for the greater good. The generation that followed did the same this time round with the sole goal of liberating women and ensuring equality. They saw one part of the world marred with social injustices and inequality. The other vision was a world where every human being was equally respected and the children were brought up on a philosophy of no segregation.

A look into this historical events gives us a couple of lessons. It teaches us that we have to unite with the sole purpose of achieving a goal. We need to sacrifice our own individual goals for the benefit of our society. Everyone has a role to play in ensuring the prosperity of the generations to come. It also gives emphasis on the individual sacrifices we all have to make. With the sole vision of having a healthier generation free from pollution, we can all sacrifice in large and small scale to achieve the vision. As I put it earlier the government cannot achieve a significant reduction in pollution if the citizens have no willpower. It, therefore, puts everyone into a task. How do you dispose of your wastes? Are you a part of the problem or the solution? Do you encourage pollution of the environment with activities that could otherwise be avoided?

The above questions are very valid and a critical analysis of the same gives us solutions to the environmental issues we face. The green collar economy is about preserving the environment. It focusses on saving the earth for coming generations (Jones, p12). It involves using the earth’s resources effectively and responsibly. Such projects may include using the rays of the sun to power our industries and waste disposing of responsibly. Using the solar power will help us do away with nonrenewable sources such as petroleum that make earth polluted (Jones, p24). Currently, the economy relies on non-renewable sources of energy. This means that the economy can collapse since as the resources become scarce the prices will increase significantly. The effect will be felt in most sectors of the economy.

The young people are the hub to innovativeness. This means that we can come up with innovative ways to reduce pollution by recycling wastes. Before throwing anything away think of how well u can recycle it to reduce wastes. Instead of using vehicles for shorter distances you can cycle. Cycling is not only an exercise that benefits the body but also cuts down on the vehicle emissions. We need infrastructure that will ensure the transition from non-renewable sources to renewable sources (Jones, p27). This gives rise to the green collar jobs that we all have to embrace. We need to pursue careers that enhance the environmental conservation. The development of renewable energy sources and sustainable production will solve environmental issues and revitalize our economy (Jones, p50).

It is clear that the danger we face is great. The question remains what are we going to do about it? Our forefathers sacrificed to give us the society we have today. We owe it to them to sacrifice and make the world a better place. Remember individually you have a role to play. We can join hands and sacrifice to make the world a better place.

Scientists have recently discovered that connections between global warming and the levels of pollutants in the air have undeniably started to become more noticeable within recent years. Throughout the air, increasing temperatures caused by global warming raise the amount of aerosols. These particles along with many others, are what causes air pollution. Aerosols are microscopic droplets that sit in the air’s atmosphere. These particles are created by natural resources, but they also are released into the air by man made emissions. Fossil fuels that humans burn everyday greatly increase the amount of CO2 in the air, which leads to a rise in temperature. The aerosols released from these emissions have great negative impacts on the health of adults and children. A pollutant that is frequently discovered near high motorized traffic areas is polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. This not only causes damage to certain parts of an adults brain, but it also causes irreversible deterioration of the lungs and brains of babies. In places like New dehli, children have a 10% lower lung capacity than normal due to the polluted air. Researchers discovered that from a direct cause of global warming, these pollutants are becoming more drastic from the evolving structures of the atmosphere. Massive weather systems like hurricanes and cyclones are now being directed towards highly populated regions, and bringing toxic air with them. The circulation from these storms are being greatly weakened by the rising temperatures of global warming, which is causing cities to be left sitting in days worth of air pollution, and leaving all of the people living there at risk.

A concept from this that is intriguing to me is why people have let this situation get as bad as it has. Adults that are simply taking walks on the street in places with poor air quality are receiving a high enough dose of pollutants to permanently cause damage to their lungs. Scientists have shown that a great amount of this pollution in the air that is affecting us is from the carbon dioxide being released by cars. From knowing these two facts, it is hard to understand why countries have not created regulations to cut back on the use of motorized vehicles for travelling. The pollutants in the air are not only causing temperatures to rise, but damaging the air they breathe. Many countries have started to cut down on the amount of cars they have on roads, and it is very important that people start to put an effort forth on this because if not, taking a walk will no longer be safe to do.

My question on this article is what long term effects are these pollutants going to have on people living in these areas. Throughout the article it says that due to the toxic air, children’s lungs were not developing properly and they’re lung capacity was smaller than most. I want to know if this will cause fatalities due to their inability to breathe, or if they will live as long as the average person that wasn’t exposed to these harmful pollutants. There has to be complications that are being revealed due to these problems, and I believe that it will only get worse. As more time goes on, the more technically advanced the world becomes and the busier it gets. This will only lead to more people being on the roads, and new devices that will cause this pollution. From other articles I’ve seen, it is shown that polluted air can cause babies to die in utero, and it has already killed hundreds of children in areas that are not as well informed on this topic. The longer people wait before they make a change, the more drastic the outcomes are going to become.

A personal connection that I have to this is when I went to Miami for my summer vacation. When I was here, I discovered that on their highways they have a lane specifically for people that are carpooling together or have large parties of people in one car. The rule is that you must have at least one other person in the car besides the driver, and you can use this lane. On my trip there, I was in the car with 4 other people, so we took this lane. The whole idea of this is to promote having less automobiles on the roads to help reduce levels of carbon dioxide that they produce. I think this is a smart way to get people that don’t care for this problem to help, because everybody enjoys not having to drive once in a while. I also believe this is a great idea because it is a simpler and more realistic way to reduce the problem without asking people to stop using their vehicles in general.

Introduction:

Air Pollution is a huge problem around the globe, usually, transportation vehicles produce the most air pollution besides factories and miners. Oh, and air pollution isn’t just a problem in Ho Chi Minh City or Vietnam. It’s a whole world problem, and it needs to be solved otherwise we will live in a future full of Air Pollution and have to wear securing masks each they go to school or going to work. And I’m sure you don’t want that, yes no one wants that to happen. So, try to help the community to find solutions to this problem. If it is solved, many people will have better lives. Especially Vietnam, one of the countries that have the most Air Pollution each year. Saigon’s air pollution is usually caused by private vehicles because the number of private vehicles in Vietnam is high and will keep increasing, which means more Air Pollution if we don’t act quickly.

Global Perspectives:

Air Pollution is a big problem around the world, almost every big country and city has lots of air pollution. Air pollution can create really bad climates, such as acid rains, mega-storms, floods, and more. In 2011, air pollution took away $131 billion of the world’s damages. “Air pollution is affecting the economy. It costs human lives, it reduces people’s ability to work, it affects vital products like food, it damages cultural and historical monuments”. (Unece, n.d.) “More cycling, better public transport and car bans – cities from Delhi to Zurich are using a range of initiatives to lower traffic pollution and improve health. “(Vidal, 2016) 999

National Perspectives:

Air Pollution is a big problem around the world, so it must be an even bigger problem in Vietnam too right? True. In Vietnam, especially Ho Chi Minh City, there are tons of transportation that are releasing CO2 into the atmosphere. The government planned to “ban motorbikes in Hanoi by 2025”, and will possibly “limit private vehicles downtown to reduce traffic in Saigon“. (Saigoneer, 2016) “There were a total of 180 new cars a day in 2016. By June 15, Saigon had 7.6 million registered vehicles, including 600,000 cars.” By reducing traffic congestion, we will consume less air pollution which will help the environment to improve. (Cong, H. 2019)

Different Perspectives:

The world seems to do better to consume less air pollution than Vietnam. The problem is, that Vietnam is still a developing country, some people are so poor that they can’t afford better technologies that cause less air pollution, that’s the biggest problem in Vietnam. To fix this, first people must have the knowledge of how to protect the environment and have to know why it is so bad for the environment. Just like around the world, they tell people about how bad air pollution is and how it will affect our lives. Vietnam should probably do something like Delhi to Zurich which has expanded the range of bicycles and better public transportation.

Source Evaluation:

The first source that I want to evaluate is Unece, n.d. This source is not biased because it’s talking about lots of things, which is how bad Air Pollution is and how is it affecting our normal lives. Also, the source was written by many people in The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The purpose of writing this article is to support the pan-European economic integration. So we can know about air pollution to improve our economic development in that environment without consuming lots of air pollution.

The second source that I want to evaluate is Saigoneer, 2016. This source is not biased because it is written based on other sources. According to its article, it said that some part was taken from VnExpress which is a different news website. It is also all about Saigon so it must be pretty accurate.

The third source that I want to evaluate is Vietnam Insider, 2018. This source is not biased because it is written based on other sources. According to its article, it said that some part was taken from VnExpress which is a different news website. It is also all about Saigon so it must be pretty accurate. This source is pretty much the same as Saigoneer.

Solutions:

I think the solutions to how we can produce less Air Pollution is that the government should improve public transportation quality for people to use so they don’t have to buy private vehicles, private businesses should change to electric trucks or eco-friendly fuel vehicles to transport their products and goods so they don’t have to use private vehicles and vehicles that still use fossil fuels which caused the numbers of vehicles to increase which mean more Air Pollution is being released to the atmosphere.

Each of us individuals and teachers should also teach kids at school or at home or anywhere how to protect the environment and teach them how to release less Air Pollution.

Reflection / Conclusion:

After this research paper, I learned that air pollution is actually a big problem around the world, not just in Ho Chi Minh City or Vietnam (Vidal, 2016). Many people have already tried to solve this problem but it’s not enough, we need more people to know how to consume less Air Pollution and respect and protect our environment so we can live on it for a long time. Air pollution around the world especially in countries like Vietnam is usually affected by private vehicles because the number of private vehicles in Vietnam is a lot and it’s still increasing, the Air Pollution amount will keep increasing if we don’t do anything to improve it. Air Pollution also affects economic development in developing countries, just as in Vietnam.

Bibliography:

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When we walk out of the door on a Monday morning, the first word that comes to our mind is ‘school’. When a student walks out of the door in China, the first word they think about is ‘pollution.’ Air pollution. In China, people suffer every day for no reason at all by breathing in toxic air. They only suffer due to the sheer lack of awareness of the Chinese government. This is not just horrible but selfish as well and the Chinese government must implement management plans to stop air pollution in China. The government must prevent air pollution for the sake of the environment and the people.

To begin with, plans must be taken into action because air pollution is destroying wildlife. Air pollution puts a risk to every animal’s life by damaging its respiration systems. Animals and plants breathe in toxic air that could end their lives at any moment. Plants will die if they take in dangerous chemicals such as ozone which can stop them from photosynthesising. This means that plants will die due to air pollution. Water bodies will become inhabitable after being affected by acid rain. Studies show that most streams and rivers in China exceed dangerous particle matter due to consistent pollutants in the air. Air pollution will keep on causing a huge loss in the environment if we take no action. There has already been enough damage caused by air pollution, surely, we don’t want more!

Last but not least, air pollution must be stopped because it is causing the people of China to suffer. Air pollution is the source of many health issues and delays in the community because of China’s dense smog. Many people fall victim to deadly diseases such as lung cancer or consistent coughing symptoms. These can lead to even more deaths with currently an average of 1 million people dying every year in China and more people will die if this is not prevented. Air pollution is also the cause of many hold-ups. Smog results in many plane delays and traffic jams in the city. The smog is so dense that in the most severe cases, people can’t even see their own hands in front of themselves. But this isn’t the worst. There will be terrible consequences if nothing is done. The society of China is already in a threatened state and doesn’t need more pressure from the government.

However, some people may think that air pollution helps boost the economy. Although this may be true, air pollution can lose money through its economic income. There are other ways to boost the economy without slaughtering thousands of people in the process of replacing fossil fuels with reusable energy. This can boost the economy without producing pollution and deaths.

Air pollution destroys the environment. It destroys the community. So why are people doing nothing about air pollution? I strongly hold the opinion that the Chinese government must implement management plans that could be taken into action. This includes using reusable energy or limiting people’s use of fossil fuels. If the government of China can show some leadership and tell people what to do, they can help change China into air polluted environment.

When I got on the BX 12 Select Bus Service, I overheard the driver on Fordham Road state, “I do not know what I am breathing, but I do know that it is toxic.” I agreed with the bus driver’s statement. The Fordham Road community is near the South Bronx, which has the highest rate of air pollution. Currently, air pollution has only worsened due to the current roadwork. This is environmental injustice and action needs to occur because everyone has the fundamental right to clean air quality.

Children face the highest risk of developing asthma because of fine particle matter and ground-level ozone. Fine particle matter is PM 2.5 and ground-level ozone is O3. Both of these particles originate from industrial sites, truck routes, and other air pollution hotspots. Since Fordham Road is located near, the South Bronx, the community will face additional air pollution due to Fresh Direct’s warehouses in the South Bronx. Even though Mayor de Blasio adopted an environmental plan known as One NYC, which is to make New York City environmentally sustainable is a long-term rather than a short-term goal. The Fordham Road community needs short-term goals in order to protest the current location of Fresh Direct. The entire South Bronx needs to unite by taking action against this online grocery store.

Fordham Road is a very dangerous intersection in the Bronx. In the past two years, I witnessed many accidents that prompted action in fixing the roadwork. Currently, I see plenty of “Vision Zero” advertisements around Fordham Road as a caution for drivers to be more careful. These advertisements are a New York City initiative with a goal to end unnecessary traffic accidents. This great initiative is causing unintended consequences such as air pollution can potentially kill more people than traffic accidents. When I went to Fordham Road to find out about the current air pollution, I decided to go in a nearby Footlocker store, because it was raining. That is where I met Mr. Persaud who had an interesting viewpoint about the current roadwork that contributed to the air pollution. He said, its “horrible, getting very dusty and what is being done is limited. The pollution is horrible in this part of Fordham Road.” This definitely proves the point that roadwork contributed to the unnecessary air pollution. The City provides limited help by trying to control the dust by using city trucks to water the roads. The limited amount of water does not do anything to prevent further air pollution.

I surveyed about 20 people on Fordham Road and Valentine Avenue about their viewpoints on air pollution. It was difficult to stop people because some did not want to stop at all. Some people that I stopped did not speak English. Most of the people that I asked said that they did not care about air pollution. This showed that people do not speak up about what they are breathing because some people are so used to their environment. In a bigger picture, this shows that if people do not give a voice, they will not make a decision about what happens in their neighborhoods. For example, when I went into the Footlocker store, I asked a clerk her thoughts on air pollution at Fordham Road. She waved me off and said that she does not care. I also asked her colleague Joe Maurice, who stated that “no one is really saying anything about the pollution. I am already used to it.”

Since low-income communities of color live near industrial area, they tend to breathe 38% more nitrogen dioxides compared to their white counterparts, mainly due to exhaust from vehicles. A community that is not aware of the consequences in breathing this type of air is more likely to die from asthma or any lung-related diseases because too much nitrogen can cause a higher risk in asthma. Since demographically, the majority of the Fordham Road population is Hispanic and Black, this shows that communities of color do breathe different air than wealthier communities.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently created a free online environmental mapping tool in being transparent between the government and community. According to EJSCREEN, Fordham Road has more ozone and PM 2.5 particles, than the Upper East Side. PM 2.5 particles are air pollution chemicals that contribute to asthma. Race divides neighborhoods such as Fordham Road is a lowincome minority neighborhood, while the Upper East Side is a wealthy Caucasian neighborhood. This leads to zip codes playing a role on whether the individual would have asthma or not. Children from low-income neighborhoods are more vulnerable to asthma, as they face greater air pollution in their living environment. This NYU research study shows higher rates of asthma among children in the South Bronx.

As a result of high asthma rates in the South Bronx, people are against Fresh Direct. Fresh Direct is an online grocery store with warehouses opening in the South Bronx. If there are more trucks in the neighborhood, then this will create an extremely toxic environment. Although Fresh Direct’s decision to move into the South Bronx can create more jobs for the community, people are against this plan because their children’s health is at stake. Fresh Direct will move into the South Bronx as a way to create jobs in the low-income community; however, people are against this plan because the number of trucks will only increase the asthma rate. This is environmental racism because Fresh Direct was picked to be in a minority community rather than in a wealthy community. This is an example of modern-day environmental injustice that denies the human rights of the people who live there and do not deserve to be further poisoned by more air pollution.

PlaNYC became OneNYC under Mayor de Blasio with a plan to strengthen New York City, through addressing issues such as the environment. This plan includes reducing air pollution. The main goal of OneNYC is for New York City to have the best air quality by 2030. Even though this plan is ambitious, individuals need to step in and find ways to reduce air pollution. New York City should provide equal opportunities for everyone in terms of accessing bikes into all of the neighborhoods. A way to become sustainable is by following in the path of Denmark because they have a low-carbon footprint. New York City should increase the CitiBike program into every single neighborhood rather than being selective to the Upper West Side and Brooklyn Heights. The New York City government should also invest more resources in creating a large outreach program that would actively collect individual viewpoints on alternative forms of transportation. New York City nonprofits that focus on environmental advocacy, such as We ACT for Environmental Justice should use EJSCREEN to advocate for communities that have high pollution rates.

The air pollution on Fordham Road is an example of many communities of color that face environmental racism. Communities need to come together to have their voices heard. These communities are the driving forces in future decision-making as the demographics of this country shift from majority to the minority population. Communities of color can push this country into becoming environmentally friendly by using clean energy which would reduce air pollution significantly.

Today I will be informing you about the negative effects air pollution has on our health, concerning my generation and future generations.

In Australia, 3,056 premature deaths are caused due to air pollution, with the costs for these deaths ranging from around $11 billion to $24 billion per year. This number will only get worse as the current trends of air pollution are only rising, and it is up to us to reduce them.

This is only the beginning of how air pollution is negatively affecting our health, which is caused due to the rising amounts of factors that cause this problem. Factors that we barely had 10-20 years ago.

In today’s society, air pollution is only becoming more predominately abundant, which is mainly due to factors such as the burning of fossil fuels, mining companies, and agricultural companies. These factors are only going to increase, with new technology being invented, and the energy demand by consumers. This means that our generation’s, as well as future generation’s health, is going to predominately worse over time.

When you burn fossil fuels, gases such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and greenhouse gases are being released. These gases are responsible for the increased risk of problems such as asthma and bronchitis, and for people living with these conditions, it causes problems with their existing conditions, such as irritation in the airways, nose, and throat, which can cause coughing, wheezing, tightness of chest and shortness of breath.

These gases, which you would typically imagine only coming out of a factory, also come out of the cars that we drive or will be driving in a few years. If you live somewhere where there are a lot of cars, such as the city, or even your homes, these gases are being released directly into the places near your home, hurting your health. Because car use is growing as more young people such as ourselves are starting to drive around, it’s putting more cars on the road, and therefore more toxic gases into your atmosphere, being detrimental to your health.

One such health issue, which is worsened due to air pollution is bronchitis. Bronchitis is a condition where the lining of the bronchial tubes, which are in your lungs, become inflamed. One particular way in which bronchitis can be caused is exposure to substances that irritate the lungs, such as fumes, vapors, and air pollution.

The continued exposure to these substances leads to progressive worsening of the condition, which can lead to scarring on the inside of the airways, only continuing to make breathing more difficult. Another illness, Emphysema, can develop from bronchitis. Emphysema is where the alveolar sacs are destroyed, and a person living with the condition cannot physically exert themselves much due to them becoming breathless

Ways that we can help to reduce the chances of these conditions becoming more prominent are: Conserve energy by turning off the light when you leave a room or unplugging your charger when your device is fully charged, carpool, take public transport, bike, or walk when possible. These are simple things/ideas that you can do at home right now, and if everyone did at least one of these things, then we would live in a much cleaner, and healthier world.

Pollution is a very serious global issue that needs to be fixed for our environment to sustain for future generations to come. The pollution that we see in our society today is unhealthy and in some extreme cases, it could be dangerous to people. Even after many attempts by our world leaders, pollution is still growing in our world and continues to be an issue. Many people see pollution as just bad air quality and they would be right, but a lot of people don’t realize how life-threatening pollution can be. In 2015, 16% of all deaths worldwide were linked to pollution or even directly from air pollution. And to go along with that, there are around 7 million deaths annually each year. Because we live in Iowa, we aren’t used to seeing any type of pollution, but in other countries such as China, it is very common and a daily thing that people of this country have to deal with.

When discussing pollution that is in our world today, it is easy to think of a few places that come to mind. Some places I think of would be New York City, India, and China. China is a particular country that struggles with air pollution. In China, smog is very common and it covers the sky and fills the city. According to an article by USA Today, it shows that there are 1.8 million pollution-related deaths, which is second in the world behind only India, which has 2.5 million deaths. Pollution is also supposed to be one of the biggest killers in the world today. Throughout the entire country, it is not uncommon for almost every city in China to be polluted to some extent. Also, 9 out of 10 people in our world today are breathing air that is polluted. In an article by James Haplin, he talks about how serious the pollution is in China. In the article, it says, “The country’s Ministry Of Environmental Protection measured air quality in 70 different cities, and found that only 8 of them met the proper standards.” This shows how bad it is in China since only 11% of cities meet proper requirements. As I said before, smog fills the streets and sky every day and it can result in people breathing in these particles that can be hurtful. The sky is so full of smog that pilots who will be landing in China will have to learn some new forms of auto-landing because the visibility can be so terrible and this smog can even be picked up by satellites in space. The main reason this is so bad is because of the crazy amount of industrialization that goes on, the number of cars, and the country’s need for coal energy. With all these things that are known to increase pollution, it is not surprising to see that China is really in trouble when it comes to pollution and it seems this may only be the beginning. In the article I read by James Haplin, he says that there will be even more coal plants within the next decade which will make the pollution even worse. Along with all of this dangerous pollution, comes a lot of dangerous health complications that affect people daily. Many people who travel to China for the first time have trouble getting used to the terrible air quality. The sickness that people get has been called the “Beijing cough” and people can suffer from throat irritation, headaches, and a cough. Not only is this outrageous amount of pollution dangerous to people, but it is also dangerous to the water in China. Chinese government officials recently tested thousands of water sites across the country and they found that almost 60% of all samples seemed to be polluted in some way. At this rate, eventually, all of China’s clean water could be contaminated in some way from all of this pollution that goes on every day. On top of all of that, many fish are being killed in the Yellow River. The pollution has caused this river, which was once clean and healthy, to turn very polluted and dirty, which has resulted in killing well over a third of all the fish population in the river. If wiping out all of the fish was not bad enough, the pollution is also killing over 4,000 people every day. This is an insane statistic that does not seem like it could be even possible, but it is and it is happening daily in China. This crazy amount of pollution that we see is no joke, in Beijing, the pollution is 35 times the safe limit, and in Shenyang, it is almost 50 times the limit. These levels are incredibly high and it is no wonder why people are dying every day. Something needs to be done about the pollution in China before it’s too late to do anything.

Even though the pollution in China is extremely bad and I mean bad, there are still ways for China to turn this around and become less polluted. In an article by Beth Gardiner, she talks about how China is creating solutions that are helping their pollution problems. Many of the leaders in China are very serious about improving the pollution in China as soon as possible. In China, they have already created a network of monitors that helps track the levels of pollution in each specific area. By doing this, they can track the air quality so people can know the type of air quality that they are breathing in. Another simple way that they are limiting the pollution in their country is by having the leaders close down the factories temporarily during November and December to try and make sure they do not exceed their usual pollution limit. Doing these very simple things can help slow down pollution in China. Another way for the Chinese to help fight against pollution is to limit the number of car emissions that can produce a ton of unneeded pollution. After China had succeeded in dropping its coal emissions greatly, its next goal was to move on to lower the emissions from vehicles. One way they could do this is by limiting the cars that can be on the road each time. They also could have other means of transportation that are much cleaner than their current options. Electric cars would be one solution to the transportation that we see and I think that by doing this it would be very effective in lessening the pollution and it would be a clean alternative for China. Instead of using coal and other things that help them produce energy, they could also go to using more electricity which would cut down pollution in some way. In an article by Michael Greenstone of the New York Times, it says that in March of 2014, the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told the National People’s Congress that they would be officially declaring war on pollution in China. This was a big step for China since this is a very dangerous problem in the country. In the article, it says that most cities in China have cut pollution by over 30% in only four years. This means that eventually, people will begin feeling better since the pollution is not as high as it once was, which will help everything. To cut the pollution down by over 30%, China had to stop the coal plants in places where pollution was the worst and in some places, they had to reduce their emissions. They also have invested over 50 billion dollars in clean energy, which leads the entire world. Something that would also be able to help them would be the involvement of the citizens of China. If they can get on board with helping the country reduce its number then I think that would help in a great way. Simple things like driving your car less, not burning things, and just trying to be more eco-friendly will all help in the long run against pollution. One last thing that could help fight against is something called switchgrass, which can help the country’s soil, it even can be burned for energy and it is a cleaner source of energy than coal. Even though China’s pollution numbers are still astronomically high they are making good progress to help try and eliminate their terrible pollution.

In conclusion, pollution is a very serious problem that goes on in China and if it doesn’t stop, we could be facing many environmental issues. The pollution that we see in China is so severe that it is a danger to the people who live in China. The number of deaths that happen every day is crazy and I think it could eventually be corrected over time. China knows its pollution is the worst that we have ever seen and they are taking this matter very seriously. They have made a decent dent into this problem and it shows that our world does have hope if we have to fix pollution on a worldwide scale.