The sun settled as the village and town wound down for the evening hours. The is sun getting stronger. Each and every day anthropogenic pollutants enter the atmosphere and react with solids, liquids, and gases suspended in our environment. Many of the harmful effects are impacting the stratospheric ozone layer, which is supposed to protect us from the sun’s damaging UV radiation.
The ozone layer is weakening, and it’s happening fast. We’ve known of the issue for some time, but regulatory standards reached a phase commonly known as a state of “Diminishing Returns.” This essentially means regulations have been set at an acceptable level for particular hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), but the rate at which industrialization, the global population, and automobile transportation continue to grow, calls for high investment with little return.
Even though many harmful air pollutants are being controlled, and their environmental concentrations decreased, the air quality index (AQI) isn’t going to suddenly improve with the blink of an eye. It may have positive short-term impacts, but as we continue to burn fossil fuels, the AQI will certainly continue to worsen. A shift toward more renewable energy must be pushed on a global scale. There are several countries leading the charge in renewable energy sources, but many developed countries still lag well behind.
And then there are the developing countries. Third world regions tend to have poorer air quality and worse health outcomes as a result. A lack of resources in combination with poor industrial innovations and minimal health regulatory standards makes developing countries a high priority for environmentalists.
How do we combat the air quality issue from a holistic viewing lens targeting both developed and developing countries. All stakeholders must come to the table and set realistic guidelines for future emission goals. Cutting back on fossil fuels, particularly coal, would be a great place to start. Coal burning is quite dangerous to human and environmental health. The particulate matter (PM 2.5) created from this process has a diameter less than 2.5 micrometers, or about 1/20th the diameter of a human hair.
The microscopic diameter of PM2.5 is so small it can enter the human circulatory system within seconds. The impacts are extremely deleterious and can lead to severe respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological implications. Total deaths from air pollution (~8 million) reached an all time high last year. Clearly, air pollution is a high priority public health issue deserving immediate attention. If you are curious to check the AQI where you live, you can check it out here