Environment in the News

Vincent Smith

ES 200 , Entry 4

2 July 201 6

To be completely honest, I did not know much about the issue of Air Pollution prior to

reading chapter 8 of this text. I never considered all the sources of air pollutions and it’s effect on

us. The book shows a pie chart outlining the sources of primary air pollutants listing

transportation at 57%, fuel combustion (electric power plants) at 21%, industrial processes at

12%, and miscellaneous pollutants at 10%. So what does this all mean? What effects do our cars

and trucks and planes really have on us? I’m aware there must be some effect on our

environment, but it has never personally impacted me (that I’m aware of) so my ignorance has

kept me in the dark. According to the text, air pollution actually injured our organisms, reduces

visibility, and attacks and corrodes materials such as plastics and metals. The list of things it

effects is momentous, everything from worsening existing medical conditions, to reducing the

produc tivity of crop plants, and effects ozone depletion (Berg , page 201). This is incredibly

dangerous even more so because we can ’t actually physically see the damage that is being done.

So while I wasn ’t completely aware of it’s effect on me personally, this whole time my

encounters with everything from smog to carbon monoxide could have been surprising my

immune system or reducing my bloods ability to transport oxygen (Berg, page 203). It’s effects

are incredibly significant, and if we aren ’t actively workin g to combat it’s effects, the results can

be detrimental.

Last September a series came out in the National Geographic profiling the struggles of

three different neighborhoods in each city that Pope Francis visited. These included Washington

DC, New York City, and Philadelphia. This was a great tool to see the realities of air pollution

illustrated in real life, present day scenarios. This also shined a light on the reality that the

poorest people are always the most effected by worst environmental turmoil . The pope ’s

entreaties about the link between poverty and the environment are especially pertinent in East

Harlem. A vast number of families being effected by air pollution due to mold, cockroaches, and

other poor housing conditions all of which are dire ctly impacting their health (Konkel) . This also

has a correlation to race. East Harlem ’s population is over half Hispanic or Latino, and

approximately one third black. The director if Columbia University ’s Center for Children ’s

Environmental Health said that “[t]he fumes — linked to asthma attacks but also to cancer,

reduced IQs, child behavioral problems, and heart attacks — waft across the city ” (Konkel). In

fact, 73 our of every thousand kids under the age of fifteen are treated by emergency room doctor

for asthma attacks, which is more than two times the city ’s rate. In addition, “chronic stressors of

poverty may fundamentally alter the way the body reacts to everyday pollutants ” (Konkel). So

those who are more susceptible to being in contact with air pollutants are also less susceptible to

be able to fight off its negative effects. The pope throughout his trip does a good job describing

the link between good housing and good health. The conclusion of this paper proposes that

everyone must come together , not just who are being personally effected, but those who are in

positions of privilege, to advocate for better living conditions for all New Yorkers. Of course,

this message isn ’t specific to New York but world wide. What this assignment has left me is not

just to get better housing for minorities in New York, but also to work on external factors that are

effecting our air pollution such as conserving energy (turning off lights and unplugging electric

appliances when they ’re not in us), using other forms of transportation such as walking or biking,

reporting smoking heckles, buying environmental products, etc.

References

Berg, Linda R.; Hassenzahl, David M.; Hager, Mary Catherine (2013 ). Visualizing

Environmental Science, 4th Edition. Wiley. Kindle Editi on.

Konkel, Lindsey. "Kids Struggle to Breathe in This Neighborhood on Pope's Tour." National

Geographic. National Geographic Society, 24 Sept. 2015. Web.