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One of the scariest air pollution facts is that people who live in major cities like New York City, Pittsburgh, or Los Angeles live on the average of 2-3 years less than people in cities with cleaner air. This reduced life expectancy is directly due to the health consequences of continually breathing polluted air. Life is short enough so why subject yourself to unhealthy situations that will shorten our life?
Most people believe that industries are the biggest cause of air pollution. This is only partly true, They only contribute about 10 percent of the total cancer risk in major cities. The remaining 90 percent of the cancer risk comes from the various modes of transportation. These include not only the major polluter, the automobile, but also trucks, buses, ships and trains. While major cities don't have a lot of lawns like the suburbs do, you would be shocked to find out how much pollution you generate by the simple act of mowing your lawn. The fact remains is that most air pollution is generated by humans burning fossil fuels.
Another scary fact is that children breathe at a faster rate than adults and as a consequence, they breathe in much more polluted air than an adult. This increased exposure to air pollution has been directly connected to increase incidence of childhood asthma. Asthma has been noted to be the leading reason that children miss school.
It has also been estimated that 6.1 to 51 million work days are lost due to air pollution in just one year in the United States.
Health problems caused by air pollution costs more than money and lost time in school or work, it can actually cost you our life. If your home, office or school is located near a high traffic area, you have an increased risk for lung disease, bronchitis asthma and even cancer.
Armed with the knowledge of these air pollution facts, you will have a better understanding of the reasons you need to cut down on the pollution in the air that you are breathing. One of the most time tested methods to cut down on pollution is car pooling. If you are lucky to have several co-workers living in the same area, car pooling not only cuts down on the amount of toxic emissions being introduced into the air, it also saves you money If everyone made an effort to car pool, you would see a significant reduction on the amount of air pollution not only in these major cities but all over the world.
Add to this the fact that chemicals used in the homes such as aerosol hair spray, and copy machines used in offices, are also a major contributor to air pollution. Switching to environmentally safe products will eventually become the norm as the toxic chemicals that are found in nearly everything we use on a daily basis, are eliminated.
Conclusion
The fact remains that air pollution is a huge problem and although great strides are being made to reduce the situation, most people are overwhelmed by the scope of the problem. If everyone took small steps to reduce air pollution, the air we breathe would be in much better shape than it is now.
