Scary Air Pollution Facts

In studying air pollution, you will find that knowledge of some very basic facts can help keep you from serious harm and may even save your life. If your future plans call for a move to the "big city", you may decide to rething that decision. You also may rethink the use of aerosol products such as hair spray and deodorants.

Digging deeper into the air pollution problem wil be very disturbing as you uncover all the serious consequences of air pollution.

One pollution fact that is the scariest is that if you live in any of the major cities world wide, you will live 2-3 years less than those people who live in the suburbs where there is cleaner air. This reduced life expectancy is directly due to the health consequences of continually breathing polluted air. We all agree that life is short enough. Don't subject yourself to unhealthy situations that can obviously shorten your 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.In the United States alone, every year from one million to a staggering 51 million work days are lost, all attributed to air pollution.

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. Car pooling is one of the most effective ways to reduce air pollution. 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.