With the booming of science and technology, pollution has aroused wide public concern. Industrial civilization creates tremendous fortune. At the same time, automobile exhaust , the burning of waste, and a multitude of waste gas is discharged into the atmosphere. Humans live depend on air. Therefore, it is undeniable that air pollution will cause the catastrophe on environment and human beings. An environment scientist Neira said, “Air pollution is a major environmental health issue, and it is vital that we increase efforts to reduce the health burden it creates.
If we monitor and manage the environment properly, we can significantly reduce the number of people suffering from respiratory and heart disease and lung cancer”(Currie). People should attach great importance to the health which is threated by the pollution. Though many researches show that air pollution has direct relation with serious disease such as heart attack and cancer, scientists continue explore ways to reduce air pollution. First, air pollution may increase the risk of heart disease.
We know that the main factors causes heart attack are stress and lack of exercise, but the study suggests that air pollution may be a terrible cause of heart attack deaths as well. Air pollution not only makes people breath uncomfortablely, but also leads to a heart attack and other related cardiovascular diseases. According to the World Health Organization(WHO) research report,” the dust particles concentration in the air is 35 times the standard recommended by the health organization, and that lung and heart disease caused by air pollution affects 8,500 people every year”( Xinhua News).
When people breathe the polluted air, the air of carbon, iron, manganese, and other particles can be sucked into the lungs, and these substances can be absorbed into blood. The heart is the most important organ in our body which is the power of blood circulatory system, so air pollution will directly cause the heart disease. Researcher Hazrije Mustafic, MD, MPH, of the University of Paris Descartes said, “as little as a week in a place with high levels of air pollution raises the risk of heart attack”. (qtd. in World News Connection).
Doing aerobic exercise will let people breath more air, so when air is polluted, the stress of heart can be increased many times of original. Therefore, people should pay attention to the quality of air. When the air pollution index is high, people who suffer from heart disease, or lung disease should control and reduce outdoor activities. When doing outdoor exercise, the place is better to be a park without heavy traffic. In addition, walking in the rain which has a low temperature is a good way to protect people’s health, because the air pollution is particularly serious in the high temperature.
When there is a wind, the pollution will be less serious. Thus, go for a running in the morning or in rainy weather is the best choice. Another serious disease that can be caused by air pollution is cancer. The number of deaths for cancer is even larger than the total amount of AIDS and Tuberculosis, and the rate of cancer mortality still keep increasing year by year. The highest incidence and mortality is lung cancer which is mainly caused by the air pollution. There is a statistics by researchers that shows, “The incidence rate ratios for lung cancer were 1.
30 [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1. 07-1. 57] and 1. 45 (95% CI, 1. 12-1. 88) for NOx concentrations of 30 to 72 and >72 microg/m3, respectively, when compared with <30 microg/m3. This corresponds to a 37% (95% CI, 6-76%) increase in incidence rate ratio per 100 microg/m3 NOx. The results showed no significant heterogeneity in the incidence rate ratio for lung cancer between cohorts or between strata defined by gender, educational level, or smoking status”. As we know, air consists of 21 percent of Oxygen, 78 percent of Nitrogen, 0.
03 percent of Carbon Dioxide, and some rare gases. However, some industrial waste will release harmful gases, dust and variety of chemical substance, such as Sulfur Dioxide, mental dust, and Nitrogen Oxides, and these substances are absorbed by the atmosphere. According to a joint European study of nonsmokers, “ associations between lung cancer incidence and nitrogen dioxide (NO2); three Scandinavian studies showed associations with model-estimated nitrogen oxides (NOx) and NO2 … the increased risk for lung cancer in association with various measures of exposure to air pollution”.
Since people breathe, those tiny particles from the waste will escape the nasal cavity filter and be directly inhaled into the human’s body. Through the circulation of human body, these harmful substances will cause serious damage like lung cancer and some other malignant tumors. Undoubtedly, air pollution makes a great threaten to human health, so people should attach great importance to the control of the environment. Consequently, air pollution has drawn great public attention. Scientists are keeping seeking for ways to control the problem by reducing effluent of pollutants.
Using new energy is a very effective method which China has already had vast experience. Ms Cheng says, “ people depend too much on fossil fuels, which increases air pollution. Many governments around the world are aware of the problem, she says, adding that they are trying out alternative energy sources which cause little or no adverse effects on the environment”. (Goh) One of the mature new energy is to utilize solar energy that can be converted into electrical energy. FoE’s Vivien Cheng says, “A solar panel is commonly used to produce solar power.
It is made of semiconductors to capture sunlight which it then converts into electricity. Energy that the Earth receives from the sun in 20 days is equivalent to the entire global reserves of coal, oil and natural gas”( Johnson, Ridder). Meanwhile, greening has important impact on purify the air. Researchers at the University of Technology, Sydney, found, “keeping a mixture of plant species, including Howea forsteriana (Kentia palm) and Epipremnum aureum (devil’s ivy), in a closed chamber with no ventilation can result in a complete removal of Volatile organic compounds(VOCs) in 24 hours. ”(Wee).
Green plants can absorb excess carbon dioxide in the air, and release oxygen, which make the Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen to maintain relative balance. In addition, through the transpiration of greening, the air humidity will increase so that can keep the air fresh, so planting more greenings can make a contribution to reduce the air pollution. In general, with the society developing, the environment has influences in all aspect of human life. Air pollution which is produce by human and impacts human as well is an obvious and serious problem all over the world. People should make joint efforts to create a clean and healthy world.
Work Cited Bator, Ulan. “Xinhua: Air Pollution in Ulan Bator Severely Threatens Health: WHO. ” World News Connection. Web. 1 May 2012. Currie, Donya. “WHO: Air Pollution A Continuing Health Threat In World’s Cities. ” Nation’s Health 42. 1 (2012): 19. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 28 Apr. 2012. Goh, Lilian. “Solar Power. ” South China Morning Post. 14 Jan. 2005. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. Johnson, Tim, and Knight Ridder. “Beijing Puts Emphasis on Developing Wind Power; China a Leader in Use of Solar Technology. ” San Jose Mercury News (California). BayArea. com, 25 Dec. 2005. Web. 30 Apr. 2012.
Ole, Raaschou-Nielsen, Andersen Zorana Jovanovic, Hvidberg Martin, Jensen Steen Solvang, Ketzel Matthias, Sorensen Mette, and Overvad Kim. “Lung Cancer Incidence and Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution from Traffic. ” June 2011. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. “Pakistan: Even a Little Air Pollution Raises Heart Attack Risk. ” World News Connection, 5 Mar. 2012. Web. 1 May 2012. “Supplemental Content. ” National Center for Biotechnology Information. U. S. National Library of Medicine, May 2010. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. Wee, Margaret. “Dishing the Dirt on Cleaning Products. ” South China Morning Post. 24 May 2011. Web. 30 Apr. 2012.