AIR

Statistics

1. 9 out of 10 people breathe in polluted air which kills 7 million people a year. (WHO)

2. From polluted air, 1/3 of people die from stroke, lung cancer or heart disease. (MacKenzie, 2016)

3. 6% more deaths occur each year from exposure to polluted air particles. That equates to 29,000 more deaths a year. (Maynard, 2015)

What can these chemicals cause?

Irritation to eyes, skin or lungs
harm to the immune, endocrine, or nervous system
child's brain or kidney development

Mackenzie, 2016

Hazardous Chemicals

Mercury
Lead
Dioxins
Cardon Dioxide
Methane
Benzene

Where do these chemicals come from?

Burning of fossil fuel gasses that are released into the air. Carbon dioxide and methane are in these gasses that heat the Earth’s temperature.This creates the smog in the atmosphere that heats the climate (MacKenzie, 2016)
Gasoline from cars
Coal/gas combustion
Factories

How to reduce it?

Carpool
Ride a bike or walk
When choosing a car pick one with better miles per gallon

Impacts on other ecosystems

Air Pollution has a major impact on birds. Researchers observed local breeding spots and found birds were not hatching as many eggs as usual. Sulfur oxide, heavy metal particles, and other chemicals in the air are making females metabolisms suffer causing them to produce eggs with thinner shells that won’t hatch. Resulting in a lower count for certain species (Shivni, 2017).

Why this can't be true

From the time a child is born, they start breathing polluted air. 93% of children in the world breathe polluted air. These children who are exposed to high levels of air pollution have greater chance to develop complications with neurodevelopment, cognitive abilities, asthma, and cancer (WHO).

Opposing Views

Some argue that these deaths of humans could be stimulated from prior health problems before the exposure to these particles. It is not certain if individuals were sick before so it is hard to determine if the pollution is the main cause.

Check Any Area's Air Quality & Health

(Maynard, 2015).