Introduction
The atmosphere is all the air around us and above is. It is essential for our survival. The atmosphere consists of the troposphere, where we are, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. The troposphere is made of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, .9% argon, and .1% other gases such as carbon dioxide. When air pollution occurs, these numbers fluctuate which can be very detrimental to our health and the environment. The atmosphere is so essential to our lives that we need to take care of it and start thinking about all the negative impacts of the indoor and outdoor air pollution we create. We need to raise awareness and educate ourselves with the problems, then start tackling these problems as soon as possible.
WHO Report: Indoor Air Pollution Is Greatest Environmental Health Risk
7 million people die each year because of exposure to air pollution, making it the single greatest environmental health risk on Earth. More than half of these deaths are caused by indoor air pollutants, which come from indoor cooking stove fuels, such as coal, wood, and cow dung. Kirk Smith, professor of global environmental health at Berkeley, has been studying the effects of common indoor solid fuels since the 70’s. He told the WHO, “Having an open fire in your kitchen is like smoking 400 cigarettes an hour.” Evidence of cardiovascular vascular harm from air pollution has increased from WHO’s last report in 2009 due to a few factors, partially due to better testing. Almost 3 million people use dirty solid fuels to do their cooking worldwide, with women and children being more susceptible to these pollutants because of their increased time spent in the house. Yet death rates in men are 49%, compared to 42% in women. Men generally have more risk factors- such as a high-fat diet or smoking- than women do. The western Pacific, Southeast Asian, and African regions accounted for more than 6 million premature deaths, while high income regions such as Europe and the Americas have under 400,000. This is largely due to the laws and limitations on air pollution implemented in developed countries versus developing. This is also due to the lack of solid fuel used in developed countries and the decreased use of indoor smoking as of recently. Indoor air pollutants can be attributed to many factors, but regardless, they are deadly and need to be controlled.
Master Gardener: Houseplants Help Clean Indoor Air
The major claim made in the article is that houseplants are useful tools in reducing the amount of indoor air pollution. It advocates for plants to be utilized throughout homes in order to reduce the amounts of three common indoor air pollutants: benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene. The article cites a study conducted by NASA in the eighties that was originally intended to purify space stations. However, NASA’s findings concluded that 19 household plants had the ability to reduce indoor air pollution effectively in the workplace and homes. The article is extremely specific about the qualities of each plant and the findings of the study. The source influences the content because NASA is an extremely credible source and the study was extensive. Additionally, if NASA is attempting to reduce indoor air pollution, it makes readers more likely to be motivated to reduce pollution as well. The information in the article relates to me directly because in my own home we have many indoor plants, and I am happy to hear that they could potentially be reducing any toxins in our air. My house even has a couple of the plants on the list the article provided. The article relates to what we are discussing in class because pollution is a large theme throughout the course, in addition to what humans can do to scale back on any of the toxins we have released into our air. My own personal reflections include that this article proved nothing drastic has to be done by individuals in order to better our environment by reducing pollution, only the addition of a few household plants. Also, I think the addition of potted plants to our school would be a beneficial idea, as many pollutants might exist in that environment as well. Also, they could assist in our study of biology and provide an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere.
Smog Can Make People Sick, Even Indoors
A new study shows that there is a direct relationship between the amount of smog outside to the number of people getting sick indoors, also known as the "sick building syndrome." The sick building syndrome is a collection f symptoms such as "dry eye, congestion, difficulty breathing, fatigue and headaches." In a test conducted by the EPA from 1994 to 1998, they concluded that the office buildings with a high level of smog and symptoms had a mechanical ventilation system, whereas the buildings with low to no smog pollution had windows and other natural ways of air circulation. Even though there's no concrete reason sick building syndrome, Apte believes it's due to ozone particles reacting with office materials such as polyester air filter. Some of the reactions were producing materials that were more harmful then the ozone, itself. research shows that smog pollution causes people more harm indoors than outdoors, even if the outdoor levels of zone are ten times higher. Indoor smog pollution is not only causing negative health effects, but it's also harms the economy. The U.S. economy loses $60 million in lost productivity due to the sick building syndrome. In most cases, including the first one which caused Legionnaire's disease, the cause of the the increase in indoor air pollution has been mechanical ventilation and ozone reacting with office materials. Researchers hope to find more causes of the variation in symptoms caused by the ozone pollution.
Discussion Questions
- Why do you think that people don't switch from polyester filters to fiberglass filters even though it would significantly decrease the amount of indoor air pollution and be safer for everyone's health?
- What can everyone do to reduce so much smog air poulltion?
- What other ways, besides having plants in our homes and switching to fiberglass filters, could we prevent indoor air pollution
Works Cited
Beglinger,
Jan. "MASTER GARDENER: Houseplants Help Clean Indoor Air." The Daily
News Online. The Daily News, 21 Jan. 2014. Web. 29 Jan. 2014. <http://thedailynewsonline.com/lifestyles/article_1a2a6b62-821d-11e3-a45c-001a4bcf887a.html>.
Biello,
David. "Smog Can Make People Sick, Even Indoors." Scientific American
Global RSS. Scientific American, Inc., 29 June 2008. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/smog-can-make-people-sick-even-indoors/>.
Brink, Susan.
"WHO Report: Indoor Air Pollution Is Greatest Environmental Health
Risk." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 25 Mar. 2014.
Web. 28 Apr. 2014. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/03/140325-world-health-organization-indoor-fuel-pollution-death/?rptregcta=reg_free_np&rptregcampaign=20131016_rw_membership_r1p_us_se_c1#close-modal>.
People can reduce smog air pollution by lowering the amount of chemicals emitted into the the environment. Most homes in developing countries use the cheapest fuel source such as wood or coal to power their homes but they contribute to the hazardous smog. Alternative fuel sources and environmentally friendly products could help reduce the amount of chemicals emitted into the atmosphere
ReplyDeleteWe can help improve air quality by choosing eco-friendly sources over the usual, cheap sources we see most residents use. For example, a switch from the usual gas cars take, which emits many harmful pollutants such as methane to solar powered cars would be one solution. Although it is an expensive solution and not the most practical, it would reduce the amount of air pollution.
ReplyDeleteI think people can reduce air smog pollution by reducing car emissions. Smog is produced in urban areas where there are many emission exposing vehicles. If people started carpooling and riding public transportation more to school, work, practice, etc, the emissions would be greatly reduced since car emissions are a major contributor in smog. Since us as people can do little things like that reduce emissions, the government can also do other things. If more industrial plants and factories were built in areas with moist air and precipitation, there would be less smog since the precipitation cleanses and dilutes the pollution. If these industries keep getting built in highly populated area with dry, warm air, the smog will accumulate more.
ReplyDeleteOne way, other than the ways already listed, that we could reduce indoor air pollution is simply to stop using major causes of indoor air pollutants. For instance, people should stop smoking indoors. There are also probably alternatives for many common indoor air pollutants, such as insulation with asbestos and wood stoves.
ReplyDeletePeople could reduce the amount of indoor air pollution in their homes by increasing airflow in the house. Opening doors and windows to allow breeze and air to circulate around the house would help to flush out the pollutants that might accumulate in the house.
ReplyDeleteMost people don't switch from polyester filters to fiberglass filters probably because they aren't informed about the difference in these filters. Also, since polyester filters are so common, most people wouldn't think twice about choosing the polyester filter because the vast majority assumes it's just as safe. Also, people can reduce smog air pollution by switching over to electric or hybrid cars that would significantly reduce the amount of car emissions.
ReplyDeleteSome ways to reduce smog pollution would be to change ours means of transportation and energy. We should take more efforts in utilizing mass transportation, like buses, or carpooling, which both lead to fewer cars on the road and thus less harmful emissions. We can also find other ways to produce energy. We should switch to renewable forms of energy such as wind or solar. Unlike, coal-burning factors, wind turbines or passive/solar energy don't release sulfur or nitrogen oxides.
ReplyDeleteI believe that smog air pollution could be reduced in many ways one of which lowering emissions of chemicals into the atmosphere. There are many way to go about doing so such as, using environmentally friendly energy resources like solar energy. This taking the place of air pollutant energy sources like coal burning. Another method to lower emissions is through our transportation working out a carpool allows for less pollutants and particle emissions from cars lowering chemicals being released into the air.
ReplyDeleteA way to reduce smog that everyday people can do can be as easy as carpooling. By carpooling there is less vehicles being used, resulting in less emissions. Also there are many hybrid or electric cars that are in production that use less fuel or electricity. Since ground level smog can be traced to vehicles emissions, this can be an effective way to lessen the smog.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone else, I believe that smog can be reduced if we reduce our emissions that not only goes towards transportation like cars, but to factories, homes and other smog pollutants. For example, instead of using a gas lawn mower use an electric lawn mower this will reduce the amount of emissions in the air.
ReplyDeleteSmog pollution is a reoccurring problem that needs to be prevented from worsening. I believe that the easiest way to reduce emissions, which in fact cause smog, would be to carpool with people places rather than drive all separate and increase the amount of emissions. Another way to help fix smog pollution would be to switch energy sources from gas to solar or wind energy. Both solar and wind energy produce minimal emissions and allow for emissions from cars to be more prevalent. Indoor air pollution is another problem that has solutions. We could all reduce the amount of electricity in our homes by turning off the lights when we leave a room. Another would be to install detectors that will alarm you if you have high levels of dangerous gases. Through many of these prevention options and solutions can help shape our society into becoming more energy efficient and environmentally beneficial.
ReplyDeleteI think the best way to reduce smog in the atmosphere is switch to a more sustainable energy source such as wind turbines. This will decrease the amount of harmful pollutants in the area that cause smog. Another way is to overtime reduce the earth population which will cause less energy demand and lead to less greenhouse gas emissions.
ReplyDeleteLittle efforts like reducing our use of tobacco and burning our fireplaces less often will help to reduce the high amount of smog air pollution in the world. We should also try to switch to more sustainable and reusable fuel sources that emit less pollutants into the air. People need to be willing to do their part in helping the environment. We cannot depend solely on the government to fix all of our air pollution problems; we are the majority and it is up to us to be more mindful of how much energy we consume and find ways to reduce it. When everyone works together that is when we will be on our way to a cleaner and healthier world.
ReplyDeleteTo reduce pollution I think we need to stop worrying about the costs as much as we do and worry about the long term environmental impact. It may be expensive right now but I think it will be worth it to live in a healthier environment. We should use reusable sources like sunlight and wind rather then fossil fuels to reduce the smog too.
ReplyDeleteThe best way to reduce city smog pollution would be to eliminate nitrogen oxides, VOCs and particle pollutants. This can be done by cutting down vehicle emissions, especially in large cities where public transportation would be a more eco-friendly option. Also eliminating coal as a source of energy or atleast reducing coal use would stop the emission of nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere. In addition to this, a substitute for the VOCs found in paint and other chemical substances would help to reduce such vapors into the atmosphere. Particle pollution can be reduced by controlling soot and other dusts through reduction of other emissions. Focusing on these three pollutants will yield the best result for reducing smog pollution.
ReplyDelete