World Map

The Impacts of Air Pollution on People and Their Environments

By Caroline Johnson

What causes Air Pollution?

Many human activities contribute to air pollution such as industrial facilities, energy production, and agriculture. Transportation is responsible for a large portion of emissions [Samet.] In America, most of our transportation relies heavily on automobile use, and the majority of cars on the road are powered with gasoline. Gasoline emits toxic compounds when it is burned [Small.] It's common knowledge that it is unsafe to sit in the garage with the door down while your car is running because of carbon monoxide poisoning. How come we don’t realize that we are essentially doing the same thing to our planet?

Figure 1

https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions

Introduction

Air Pollution is considered a global health risk due to the fact it has been proven to lead to or worsen chronic diseases such as asthma and heart disease. The World Health Organization reported in 2016 that 7 million people died due to outdoor air pollution [Watkins.] This is why it is the focus of many environmental justice advocates due to the fact that minority groups and low income individuals are significantly more likely to have high exposure to indoor and outdoor (ambient) air pollution [Small.] This is due to the fact that pollutive industries are disproportionately located in lower income or minority neighborhoods [Thomas.]

Figure 2

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/23/air-pollution-is-getting-worse-data-show-more-people-are-dying/



Toxic pollutants enter our bodies and trigger an inflammatory response. Our bodies don’t know how to respond to the foreign compounds and attack them with white blood cells as if it were a virus or bacteria. Since we are repeatedly exposed to these particles, our bodies are in a constant state of inflammation. This chronic inflammation is believed to lead to diseases like asthma, pulmonary issues, and cancer [Samet.] Some scientists believe that air pollution may cause mental health issues such as anxiety. It's easy to see how chronic health concerns could lead to anxiety but it's interesting to consider that our mental health epidemic could be closely correlated with pollution [Brauer].



Figure 3

https://frontandcentered.org/data-shows-race-key-factor-in-air-pollution-exposure-in-washington/

Background

Certain pollutants are already toxic to human health such as Carbon Monoxide, Particulate Matter, and Nitrogen Dioxide [Samet.] Some compounds go into the atmosphere and combine with water to create acid rain. Acid rain damages plants and decreases growth, meaning forests and crops are at risk for limited or poor growth. Scientists who examine plant matter in highly polluted environments often observe cellular damage [Kozlowski.] Figure 4 illustrates the different kinds of plant damage.

Figure 4

https://www.encyclopedie-environnement.org/en/life/impact-air-pollutants-on-vegetation/



Carbon dioxide is normally offset by the environment as plants rely on it for photosynthesis, however excess levels can lead to issues like ocean acidification. Ocean Acidification can cause marine life, such as coral reefs, to dissolve. Coral reefs are an essential ecosystem for many marine creatures. Certain types of plants and animals are called sensitive species because they are susceptible to death with changing water and ecosystem conditions. Biodiversity, or how diverse an ecosystem is, is threatened by the loss of certain species [Doney.]





Figure 5

https://www.airclim.org/acidnews/2011/AN4-11/serious-air-quality-problems-europe

We've all probably heard of the term "ozone" but what does it really mean? Ozone (sometimes called Ground-level Ozone) is a man-made layer that forms from compounds present in pollution [Small.] Heat and sunlight get trapped within the ground-level ozone, making Earth's surface hotter. The "ozone layer" is an important part of our atmosphere that absorbs harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun [Riddle.]

Figure 6

https://www2.cgd.ucar.edu/research/ozone-garden/

Louisville is an example of a city that relies on automobile use. Not only does this put our health at risk, it is a cause of social inequity [Samet.] In terms of privilege, people who don’t have a car are severely socially and economically disadvantaged. In terms of environmental inequity, areas like West Louisville have extremely poor air quality and are at high risk for asthma, despite the fact that most of the people who own cars likely live in the East End. Pollutive factories and industries are unfairly distributed, as the majority of them are located in lower income areas such as Rubbertown [Gilderbloom.]

Figure 7

https://louisville.edu/envirome/healthyairwaterandsoil/about/center-for-healthy-air-water-and-soil/

Solutions

Public transportation decreases the amount of cars on the road, therefore significantly lowering emissions. However, for public transportation to work, it needs to be easily accessible. This creates a need for infrastructure revitalization such as high density housing, and transit oriented development. Transit oriented development involves having a transportation access point that is either a 10 minute walk or .5 miles away. Investment in public transit is a key part in helping to curb environmental inequity and pollution related health issues [Renne.]



Figure 8

https://www.modeshift.com/future-of-us-public-transit/

There is a general need to further ourselves from using fossil fuels as a source of energy for anything, including fuel, energy, gas, etc. They're a nonrenewable resource and their amounts are dwindling, in addition to the fact that the process of extracting them from the earth is a deeply invasive and disruptive procedure that leads to degradation of the land [Dietrich.] We need to invest more in renewable energies and retrofitting existing buildings and power grids [Power.]

















Figure 9

https://www.unicef.org/vietnam/stories/making-every-breath-count

Increased urban forests are multipurpose for a city. Greenery leads to better mental health, which is a part of equity and social balance. It also offsets carbon emissions by absorbing carbon dioxide [Hirokawa.] Better access to healthcare and coverage for things like prescriptions so that chronic diseases related to air quality can be diagnosed, treated, managed will help reduce environmental inequity. Accessible healthcare means that it is not only affordable, but that there are facilities and pharmacies in every community [Thomas.]

Figure 10

https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/who-benefits-from-nature-in

References

  1. Brauer, M. (2015). Air pollution, stroke, and anxiety. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 350. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26520527
  2. Doney, S. C., Balch, W. M., Fabry, V. J., & Feely, R. A. (2009). OCEAN ACIDIFICATION: A CRITICAL EMERGING PROBLEM FOR THE OCEAN SCIENCES. Oceanography, 22(4), 16–25. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24861020
  3. Dietrick E. Thomsen. (1974). Fossil Fuels. Science News, 105(5), 76–77. https://doi.org/10.2307/3958754
  4. Gilderbloom, J. H., Squires, G. D., Friesland, R. P., Turner, D. (2020) https://www.courier-journal.com/story/opinion/2020/06/25/louisville-pollution-dirty-air-black-neighborhoods-systemic-racism/3223469001/
  5. Hirokawa, K. H. (2011). Sustainability and the Urban Forest: An Ecosystem Services Perspective. Natural Resources Journal, 51(2), 233–259. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24889703
  6. Kozlowski, T. T. (1980). Impacts of Air Pollution on Forest Ecosystems. BioScience, 30(2), 88–93. https://doi.org/10.2307/1307913
  7. Power, A. (2010). Housing and sustainability: demolition or refurbishment?. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers-Urban Design and Planning, 163(4), 205-216. (Section 5)
  8. Renne, J. L. (2009). From transit-adjacent to transit-oriented development. Local Environment, 14(1), 1-15.
  9. Riddle, B. (2018). Ozone: The protective layer above us. Science Scope, 42(2), 104–107. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26611844
  10. Samet, J. M., & White, R. H. (2004). Urban Air Pollution, Health, and Equity. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health (1979-), 58(1), 3–5. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25570244
  11. Small, K. A., & Kazimi, C. (1995). On the Costs of Air Pollution from Motor Vehicles. Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, 29(1), 7–32. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20053058
  12. Thomas, L. (2022) Intersectional Environmentalism
  13. Watkins, Abby. (2022). How Air Pollution Is Harmful to Your Health. Population Education. https://populationeducation.org/how-air-pollution-is-harmful-to-your-health/.
  14. (2019) Air Pollution Hurts the Poorest Most. UNEP, https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/air-pollution-hurts-poorest-most.