How harmful is household air pollution?

The use of wood or coal fuel for cooking, heating, and lighting, is said to be putting three billion people worldwide at risk of damaged health and early death.

There are many countries in the world, most in Africa and Asia that predominantly use wood or charcoal, or coal, to cook, heat, and light their homes - approximately one third of global population.

These smoky fuels are very dirty and the result of their combustion is high levels of indoor air pollution.  It is reported that in some areas, household air pollution is so high that it actually contributes to an increase of outdoor air pollution.

Because of the excessive levels of  household air pollution an estimated 600-800 million families worldwide are at increased risk of illnesses that include respiratory tract infections, pneumonia, COPD, asthma, and lung cancer.

The UK researchers from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine concluded that household air pollution killed approximately 4 million people in 2010. The researchers also reported that there are close to 3 billion people that are currently exposed to excessive levels of household air pollution.

Many third world countries have failed in their efforts to tackle household air pollution and the public awareness of the risks of cooking with wood and coal in poorly ventilated homes remains very low.

Scientists and health personnel in countries where household air pollution is still taking heavy toll need to work with governments and international health agencies to increase awareness of this issue in order to have any chance of success.

Air pollution has major impact on global weather

Air pollution caused by humans is not only causing health and environmental issues, it is also affecting global weather. The researchers at the Texas A&M University have recently found the clear link between the increased air pollution, and changing weather patterns, particularly on the formation of powerful storms.

In their study, researchers used pollution emission data compiled by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and looked at two scenarios, the first one for a rate in 1850, the so called pre-Industrial era, and the second one from 2000. By comparing these two scenarios researchers discovered that air pollutants from Asia affect storms that hover over the Pacific and subsequently the weather patterns in North America as well as the rest of the world.

The ever-increasing air pollution in many of the Asian fast-growing economies has major impact on storm formation and global air circulation. It makes storms stronger and more intense, and these storms are then characterized with more precipitation in them.

The pollutants that come in the air form particles called aerosols. The level of these particles in the atmosphere affects the scattering or absorbing solar radiation, and can thus indirectly lead to alteration of cloud formations.

The researchers are convinced that the Pacific storm track is intensified because of the growing Asian air pollution. Aerosols in the air over Asia impact the global weather patterns through these powerful Pacific storms can affect weather significantly, both at regional as well as global level.

Hopefully, future studies will shed even more light on the link between air pollution and climate and weather patterns.

Wildfires to further degrade air quality on our planet

Wildfires have become much more frequent over the last few years and this trend is set to continue even further, the latest study done by the US scientists suggests that by the year 2100, emissions from wildfires in California alone will grow by 19 to 101 percent.

The main reason behind this expected growth of emissions is climate, which is fast changing as our planet becomes hotter due to rapid increase in man-made carbon emissions.

One of the major environmental damages done by more frequent wildfires will be degraded air quality because this will lead to a much higher level of air pollutants in the air leading to adverse effects to human health causing aggravated respiratory conditions.

Climate change is almost certain to impact the number and severity of wildfires, meaning that already concerning air pollution issue will likely grow even further in not so distant future. The science still hasn't proposed the way on which people can better prepare for the future and perhaps lessen the effects of these wildfires.

It's not just air pollution that is worrying scientists but also risk of damage to buildings and homes in hot areas such as American West. People will quickly need to learn how to mitigate these effects in wildfire-prone regions in order to protect their homes and their health.

Air pollution coming from wildfires is not just major health issue, it will also likely lead to lower crop yield, and forest health could suffer, doing damage to many ecosystems that depend on forests.

Strong link between air pollution and mortality

Air pollution still remains one of the biggest health issues in the world. The US scientists from the University of North Carolina have revealed in their latest study that outdoor air pollution takes more than two million lives each year.

This study also agrees that changing climate can exacerbate the effects of air pollution and increase death rates but this only accounts for a small proportion of current deaths thus having minimal overall impact.

Approximately around 2.1 million deaths are caused each year by man-made increases in fine particulate matter. These air pollutants make their way into our lungs, causing many respiratory diseases as well as cancer.

This study once again confirmed that air pollution still remains among the most important environmental issues for human health. Many of these deaths are estimated to occur in East Asia and South Asia, where population is high and air pollution is severe, though air pollution is also taking its victims in other parts of the world.

The researchers also studied the connection between the climate change and air quality and have come to conclusion that there is a connection in many ways, possibly leading to local increases or decreases in air pollution.

They said that "temperature and humidity can change the reaction rates which determine the formation or lifetime of a pollutant, and rainfall can determine the time that pollutants can accumulate. "

The results of this latest study were pretty comparable to previous studies that have analyzed air pollution and mortality.

Finding a solution to air pollution

We are fortunate to live in the age of information, where comprehensive data on a range of topics is accessible online and at the touch of your fingertips. This has led to increasing levels of awareness among consumers, who are able recognize significant health and environmental threats while developing ways to counteract them.

One of the most widely discussed issues in contemporary society is air pollution, as this continues to have a devastating impact that must be curbed in order to protect long term environmental health.  Thanks to an increasingly motivated global community and the efforts of international government to effect change, there are number of innovative solutions that are beginning to take hold.

Combating Air Pollution: 3 Steps Towards a More Prosperous Environment

When it comes to combating air pollution, there are two main types of measures. The first are referred to as input controls, which are proactive techniques designed to eliminate the issue at source. Conversely, output controls are reactive measures that have been developed to deal with the consequences of air pollution. While the latter are increasingly popular in the current climate, however, input controls offer the best possible chance of minimising pollution and creating a more sustainable future. Consider the following examples:

*  Global Population Controls: As of the first quarter of 2013, the global population stood in excess of 7,094 billion. This represents a significant concern in terms of air pollution, as the rapid rate of population growth threatens to overwhelm the world's limited natural resources. This is also cited as being a key driver of rising road congestion and carbon emissions, which contribute heavily to soaring levels of air pollution. Therefore, global population control measures have been proposed as a way of reducing pollution in a sustainable manner.

*  The Drive for Energy Efficiency: With citizens adopting such a proactive approach to maintaining the environment, governments around the world have taken the logical decision to empower them as key contributors to the cause. They have done this through a number of methods, including offering financial incentives for home-owners who embrace efficient energy sources such as solar power. The development of flat pack housing has also afforded individuals the opportunity to create a more sustainable living space, which consumes less energy and utilizes more environmentally friendly materials.

*  The Evolution of the Automotive Industry: Evolution in the automotive trade is also considered as being key to reducing air pollution levels, as manufacturers continue to develop increasingly fuel efficient hybrid models. The global expansion of the LEV (light electrical vehicle) market is also providing consumers with a growing range of environmentally friendly and functional transportation options, which will ease congestion in busy metropolitan areas. This trend is set to continue for the foreseeable future, and the traditional automotive market continues to evolve in line with consumer demand.

The Bottom Line

In addition to these global trends, there are also numerous companies that are implementing practical air pollutions controls in countries throughout the world. Firms such as ERG Air Pollution Control supply innovative air pollution control systems and services on demand, and subsequently enable firms to operate in a cost effective and sustainable manner.

Exposure to air pollution in childhood increases diabetes 2 risk

Air pollution is particularly hazardous for children and those children who live in areas with high levels of air pollutants in the air are more susceptible to variety of different diseases with one of them also being the diabetes 2.

This has been confirmed by the German scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München who have concluded that the children that are growing up in areas where air pollution is increased are more susceptible to the risk of insulin resistance (the precursor to diabetes).

This is due to the oxidative stress caused by exposure to air pollutants leading to the development of insulin resistance. Furthermore the long term exposure to particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide can also lead to increased insulin resistance.

This study showed that insulin resistance levels tended to increase with increasing air pollution exposure and that the levels of insulin resistance were greater in children that were more exposed to air pollution. Also, the proximity to the nearest major road increased insulin resistance by 7% per 500 meters showing yet another negative health effect of traffic-related air pollution.

What this study undoubtedly shows is that being exposed to long-term air pollution as a child significantly increases the risk for the development of diabetes in adults. On the broader scale of things this study is just one in the series of the studies showing that clean air is one of the major prerequisites to healthy life.

Air pollution is therefore not only major environmental issue, it is also a very important health issue. What this means is that our entire society should care more greatly about the degrading air quality in many areas of the world.

Isoprene makes trees contribute to air pollution

There still doesn't seem to exist a unified scientific consensus about the connection between the trees and smog, or air pollution in general. The well known fact on this matter is that trees produce and emit isoprene that is known to protect leaves from oxygen damage and temperature fluctuations. The latest interesting research on this topic comes from the US scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In this study researchers concluded that isoprene once exposed to sun is chemically altered and reacts with man-made nitrogen oxides (produced from vehicles and fossil fuel fired power plants) to create particulate matter, a rather common air pollutant.

What this means, is that the isoprene, originally produced to protect leaves from the trees, in combination with man-made nitrogen oxides leads to production of harmful air pollutants that can cause significant damage to our environment.

Of course, the solution to this cannot be cutting the trees because trees are beneficial in many ways such as absorbing harmful carbon emissions from the atmosphere. The better solution would be to try to reduce the man-made nitrogen oxide emissions from vehicles and plants.

It is vital knowledge to understand all these mechanisms because this gives researchers a more comprehensive knowledge to make more accurate predictions of air pollution and climate change effects.

There are many other interesting interaction between natural and man-made emissions and science must try to learn as much as possible about them because knowing why something happens makes it lot easier to find the right solution for.

Health consequences of air pollution in Los Angeles

Los Angeles is one of the U.S. cities most affected with air pollution. California, in general, is one of the U.S. states with major air pollution issue as there are three cities in Golden State that are ranked among top ten most polluted cities in United States – Los Angeles, Bakersfield, and Visalla-Porterville.

Los Angeles is characterized with heavy traffic – plenty of cars in combination with plenty of sunshine results in highly polluted air.

The latest study by the University of Southern California says that air pollution has serious health consequences on L.A. residents. In fact, at least 8 percent of the more than 300,000 cases of childhood asthma in Los Angeles County can be linked to traffic-related air pollution at homes within 250 feet of a busy roadway.

Children are particularly sensitive to polluted air and plenty of children in L.A. county lives near major traffic corridors. The chronic effects of air pollution on respiratory health have been well documented with plenty of different studies, with children usually being the most affected.

Asthma may not be the only disease resulting from excessive air pollution. Rob McConnell, professor of preventive medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC, warned that „other diseases may be caused or exacerbated by urban air pollution, including atherosclerosis, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and neurological disorders.“

Polluted air in California accounts each year for around $193 million in hospital costs according to the Rand Corporation study, with Los Angeles spending the most money in nation on air pollution-related ailments.

Current estimates say that air pollution kills around 25,000 people each year in California. This means that the state of California must come up with new clean air polices in order to ensure healthy living for its residents.

The possible solutions include reducing traffic, using electric or hybrid cars or traveling with public transport, encourage walking, etc.

Air pollution has the ability to migrate

Air pollution can migrate from one region to other, even from one continent to other. In fact, U.S. scientists from the University of Maryland have calculated that approximately half of the aerosols that affect domestic air quality originate from other continents including Asia, Europe and Africa.

Most of these pollutants aren't industrial emissions but rather dust from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. In fact, approximately 87.5 percent of total foreign aerosols refer to dust that comes from across the Pacific.

This means that foreign pollution affects the quality of U.S. air and that air pollution shouldn't be looked at as purely regional issue but rather a global issue whose impact is constantly growing.

Winds can carry atmospheric particles thousands of miles, meaning that these particles can impact air quality in other regions. The good news with dust pollution is the fact that its migration occurs at high altitudes, therefore it is unlikely to seriously affect the quality of U.S. air.

This study was the first of its kind in using the satellite-measurement-based estimate of the amount of airborne particles that come to North America from other continents.

This modern satellite technology is equipped with sensors that monitor aerosol plumes across the ocean and measure their composition and particle characteristics. By using these technology researchers are even able to tell the difference between dust and the other types of aerosols (from instance those that originate from fossil fuel burning).

The scientists believe that the amount of foreign dust in the U.S. air will continue to grow in years to come because drought periods will likely become much more frequent because of the ongoing global warming phenomenon.

This latest study is another proof that there are plenty new factors affecting domestic air pollution than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  has accounted for. There is also a strong link between air pollution and ongoing climate change.

Cleaner cars reducing VOC's pollution

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are one of the top air pollutants but luckily their concentrations in air have significantly decreased in the last 50 years. This has mostly to do with the fact that today's cars are much cleaner than the ones produced 50 years ago.

VOCs are primarily being emitted into the air from the tailpipes of vehicles, and are known to be a key substance of the ozone, which at excessive levels can lead to health issues (harming lungs) and can also cause major damage to plants.

The Los Angeles area in California is one of the worst air polluted areas in the United States, and U.S. researchers were certainly very surprised after discovering that the levels of VOC's in the air in the Los Angeles Basin have dropped by about 98 percent since the 1960s. In fact, VOCs levels decreased by an average of 7.5 percent per year.

It certainly looks like California's longtime efforts to control vehicle pollution have at least somewhat paid off because even on the most polluted day during a research mission in 2010, researchers measured only 50 of VOCs pollutants compared to measurement taken eight years earlier, in 2002.

What this means is that the ozone levels have been steadily dropping in Los Angeles Basin since the 1960s, but the bad news is that the current levels still fail to meet ozone standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The cars have become much cleaner because of the „improved catalytic converters, use of reformulated fuels less prone to evaporate, and overall improved engine efficiency of new vehicles.“

The decrease in emissions of VOCs is set to continue further because new cars are becoming increasingly cleaner, especially as hybrid and electric vehicles further grow in popularity across the Californian roads.

Clean air is one of the main prerequisites of normal, healthy life and is certainly good to see that the California's clean air policy is finally bearing fruit.

The future impact of air pollution

Air pollution is major environmental issue in many countries of the world. The human-made emissions continue to grow and this will lead to further worsening of global air quality in years to come.

The EU scientists from the Max Planck Institute say that if the world continues "business as usual" with the increasing level of carbon emissions, the average world citizen will by 2050 experience similar levels of air pollution to that of today's average East Asian citizen.

Air pollution is not only major environmental issue but also a major health risk which leads to millions of deaths worldwide. World Health Organization says that urban outdoor air pollution leads to 1.3 million deaths per year worldwide.

The scientists are calling for much stronger efforts, including much more effective legislation, to avoid further deterioration of global air quality and prevent further negative impact on human health.

The global air pollution reduction measures are yet to be implemented, and the important first step would no doubt be agreeing on new international climate change deal. The bad news is that climate change talks have so far showed very little progress with large number of countries being reluctant to significantly reduce their carbon emission levels.

What world desperately needs in this time is a global clean air policy. However, this sort of international policy will be hard to achieve, particularly given the large difference in opinion between the developed and the developing countries.

China still remains the world's largest air polluter, followed by United States. These two large countries have so far showed very little in terms of good will to lead the world in reducing the global carbon footprint.

 If we fail to do something to prevent further increase in emissions our children and grandchildren will be forced to live in the world with much worsened air quality.

The areas of eastern China, northern India, the Middle East, and North Africa are projected to have the world's poorest air quality in years to come, but the levels of several major air pollutants is also set to significantly rise in much of the Western world.

Green plants can improve air quality in cities

Many cities, from all over the globe, are experiencing excessive levels of air pollution, mostly because of traffic and/or increased industrial activity. Polluted air does not only lead to different environmental but also to many health issues, and this is the reason why we must all tend to improve air quality in our cities.

One of the simplest ways on how we can improve air quality in our cities is to plant more green plants. The recent study by UK scientists says that green plants such as grass and climbing ivy can significantly reduce nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and microscopic particulate matter (PM) levels in the air.

These two air pollutants can be can be quite harmful to human health and the scientists have also discovered that their concentration exceeds safe levels on the streets of many cities.

The UK scientists report that the „judicious placement of grass, climbing ivy and other plants in city streets can reduce the concentration of NO₂ by as much as 40 percent and PM by 60 percent“. This is approximately 8 times more than previously believed.

The researchers also concluded that trees aren't always highly effective in reducing the levels of these pollutants, and getting the most of them can be only done if prior care is taken to avoid trapping pollutants beneath their crowns.

Green plants can fight air pollution in many different ways, not only do they trap and hold these harmful air pollutants (they trap and filter pollutants by leaves, stems and twigs), but also absorb CO2 and produce oxygen in the process.

Urban designers should consider these positive effects of planting more green plants in cities, and make sure to „green“ their cities as much as possible.

Indoor air pollution is often overlooked

Indoor air pollution is often more harmful than outdoor air pollution, especially because we spend the largest portion of the day indoor, inside our home or office. The air inside our homes and offices can sometimes be much more polluted compared to outdoor air, and thus present a major health threat.

In their latest study the British scientists were measuring air quality inside and outside three residential buildings with different types of energy use. What they have discovered is that the levels of one of the most common air pollutants nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the kitchen of the city centre apartment with a gas cooker were as much as three times higher than the levels measured outdoors, and well above clean air quality standards.

In order to reduce heating costs many people try to make their homes and offices more airtight which often leads in inadequate circulation of the air and high levels of indoor air pollution that could have adverse effects on human health.

Indoor air pollution is particularly hazardous to elderly people and young children, and can not only lead to respiratory diseases like asthma but also cause heart problems.

The indoor air pollution certainly needs to be included in general air pollution equation and we need to pay more attention on the quality of air we breathe in our homes and offices.

We spend approximately 90% of time indoors so the quality of indoor air is certainly one of the main prerequisites of the healthy life.

Indoor air pollution is yet to be widely recognized issue and there has been very little scientific data about emission rates from different appliances we use in our home and offices. There also hasn't been adequate regulation on indoor pollutants that would regulate the acceptable level of indoor air emissions.

There needs to be far more research about the indoor air quality because the effects of indoor air pollution on our health mustn't be overlooked.

Excessive air pollution can lead to repeated heart attacks

Many people look at air pollution issue strictly from the environmental point of view, forgetting that air pollution not only has harmful impact on our environment but also on our health. The negative health impact of air pollution doesn't stop on respiratory diseases such as asthma and lung cancer, air pollution also does serious damage to our heart.

The latest interesting study on this topic comes from Israel where scientists have concluded that exposure to air pollution not only increases the risk of heart attack and stroke but it also causes repeated episodes over the long term.

Dr. Yariv Gerber of TAU's School of Public Health at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine said that long-term exposure to air pollution leads to chronic irritation of inflammatory system that can lead to repeated heart attack(s).

People that live in areas with high levels of air pollutants in the air are said to be 40 percent more prone to a second heart attack when compared to people that live in areas with normal level of air pollutants in the air.

Dr. Gerber also said that the actual negative impact of air pollution on our health might be even stronger because using data from monitoring stations gives only a crude estimate of exposure, so the precise results could be lot more serious.

The major sources of air pollution are industrial and car emissions. Many cities all across the world are areas with high levels of harmful air pollutants in the air, and people that live in these cities are very vulnerable to different health issues as the result of excessive air pollution.

The health benefits of clean air are enormous. The health risks of air pollution are great and countries need to take this issue far more seriously. The World Health Organization estimates that around 2.4 million people die each year from causes directly attributed to air pollution.

How to improve air quality of our planet?

Air pollution is taking heavy toll in many countries and cities all across the world. This is the main reason why there is a large number of countries that have set new emission targets in order to improve their air quality, particularly in large cities.

But how to improve air quality when the number of cars in our roads, as well as global industrial activity, continues to grow?

The answer for this is cleaner technologies, with the emphasis on renewable energy.  Our industry is still heavily based on fossil fuels and as long as fossil fuels remain dominant energy sources we won't be able to stop environmental pollution.

Replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources is the best way to improve overall air quality of our planet, and leave our planet in healthy state for our future generations.

The main problem with this concept is that fossil fuels still have edge in costs over renewable energy sources, and many people still do not want to pay higher energy bills, even if this means less air pollution in their area.

The transition to renewable energy economy is therefore still not happening fast enough, even with the recent popularity of solar and wind energy. People don’t want to pay more for renewable energy and this issue is something that science will have to find the solution for, and as quickly as possible because the environmental condition of our planet continues to deteriorate.

Air pollution isn't happening only in Chinese cities, it is also a common thing in many cities of the western world, especially those with the high amount of daily traffic. To solve this issue we need cleaner cars on our roads, such as electric or hybrid cars. We could be also walking more or riding a bike than going everywhere with our cars. This is not only good to improve air quality of the area we live in but is also very healthy.

Countries also need to improve their monitoring of different air pollutants. The monitoring needs to be done more thoroughly and more frequently in order to determine the actual air quality in certain area, as well as possible changes in air quality which could lead to easier discovery of sources behind the (potential increase) in air pollution.

Without clean air you can forget about healthy life. If our environment is still regarded as second best when compared to industry then at least our health should be more important, or are we even ready to sacrifice our health for a few dollars more?  

Why is air pollution happening?

Air pollution is primarily happening because of our industry and our vehicles. These sources release harmful pollutants such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, sulfur and nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter into air.

Increased industrial activity and the growing number of cars in our roads means that air pollution is constantly growing, even despite the efforts from many countries and different legislation that aim to reduce the global level of air pollution.

When thinking about air pollution most people will automatically turn to China. Chinese cities are indeed the most negative examples of excessive air pollution but this doesn't mean they are the only ones. There are several U.S. cities experiencing excessive levels of air pollution such as Los Angels and Pittsburgh.

The best solution to tackle air pollution issue is to make our industry and vehicles cleaner. This means shifting focus to renewable energy sources and using more hybrid/electric cars instead of conventional gasoline powered cars.

The problem with these solutions is the fact that these technologies are yet to become cost-competitive with traditional technologies, and will certainly need plenty of time before reaching maturity level needed to challenge currently dominant technologies.

The first step towards cleaner technologies is the adequate legislation. The companies need to be legally forced to look for cleaner solutions by paying astronomical fines for continuous pollution of our air, and environment in general.

The big polluters must be severely punished for the damage they are doing to our environment and our health. Economic growth mustn't be used as a universal excuse to justify continuous deterioration of our environment.

The air pollution (as well as other forms of pollution) will continue to grow as long we remain ignorant about it. We must realize that air pollution is major issue that is also jeopardizing our own health and not just the health of our environment.

Clean and healthy air does not only mean clean and healthy environment but also a healthy life for our children, grandchildren and our future generations.

The negative effects of air pollution in cities

Air pollution is taking a heavy toll in many cities, all across the globe. Many people usually think about Chinese cities as the examples of excessive air pollution but China is far from being an isolated case of air pollution in cities. There are many cities in developed world that are notorious for extremely high pollution levels, in U.S. for instance Los Angeles and Pittsburgh.

In most cases high traffic is the main source of air pollution in cities. City roads filled with cars and other vehicles release harmful pollutants in air that cause many adverse health effects.

In one of their recent studies the Harvard School of Public Health claims that air pollution is responsible for around four percent of all deaths in the United States.

Air pollution has been linked with many health issues, from breathing issues such as asthma to heart attacks. Even the short exposure to pollutants found in air such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide increases significantly the risk of heart attack.

Among the leading causes of mortality in developed world are cardiovascular diseases. There have been several studies that found the strong connection between the cardiovascular diseases and air pollution in several large cities of the world.

The studies have also linked air pollution in cities with acceleration of cognitive decline in older adults. Air pollution often leads to prematurely born babies, especially in areas in cities where there is a constant high traffic. Prematurely born babies are more likely to develop different disabilities throughout their life.

Asthma, the most common chronic childhood illness in developed countries is closely linked to air pollution in cities.

Tackling air pollution in cities is anything but easy because of the high traffic levels, particularly in large cities. Still, our health is more important than our cars and city authorities need to ensure clean air for their citizens.  

We should always have in mind that clean air is one of the main prerequisites for healthy life.

How does pollution affect our world?

Pollution affects our world by making our environment dirty and unhealthy place to live in. In order to live healthy we need our environment to stay clean and pollution-free but sadly pollution levels continue to grow in many parts of the world.

The rapid industrial development often means excessive pollution and destruction of valuable nature resources. It’s not that we don’t need industry but we need cleaner industry that is more environmentally friendly.

Fighting pollution is anything but easy mostly because pollution comes from various sources and has many different forms such as water, air and noise pollution. Successful fight against pollution means not just finding the sources of pollution but also ensuring their frequent monitoring in order to prevent them from polluting our environment.

Air pollution and water pollution are the two most talked about forms of pollution because they cause the biggest damage to our environment and our planet in general.

These two forms of pollution do not only hurt our environment but are also doing tremendous damage to our health. World Health Organization reports that close to 2.5 million people die each year from causes directly attributable to air pollution, while on the other hand water pollution takes 15,000 lives each day, mostly in developing countries.

Air pollution leads to different respiratory diseases and heart problems while water pollution remains the main source of diarrhea, a disease that is responsible for 1.5 million deaths of children each year.
 
Our vehicles and industry are the main sources of excessive air pollution in many parts of the world while the two main sources of water pollution are waste water and sewage waste.

Air pollution also contributes to global warming and climate change while water pollution leads to decline of freshwater resources and could lead to future water shortages.

Protecting our world from pollution means protecting the wellbeing of not only ourselves but also of our future generations. To protect the environment from the negative effects of pollution, many countries worldwide have enacted legislation that regulate various types of pollution but despite of these admirable efforts pollution still continues to grow in many parts of the world, especially in developing countries.

 Each and every one of us needs to get involved and practice efforts that lead to pollution prevention and reduction. We simply have no other choice because Earth is still our only home.

Organic aerosols contribute to smog pollution

Organic aerosols which are the major component of smog particles have been largely underestimated as major air pollutants by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This is because EPA used old models that do not tell the right story about what is actually in the air and for how long it remains in the air.

The predominant theory about organic aerosols suggests that organic aerosols in smog pollution form liquid droplets that quickly dissolve potentially unhealthy gases. The latest research done by several U.S. scientists argues this by claiming that once organic aerosols are sucked into a particle, they get buried deeper and deeper which basically means that these gases are sucked into smog particles from which they cannot escape.

Smog pollution is not only major environmental threat but also major health threat that has been connected to everything from asthma to heart attacks. And since EPA and other air regulators use older models the currently predicted levels of smog pollution are everything but certain.

UCI air chemist Barbara Finlayson-Pitts explained this by saying that organic aerosols "check in, but don't check out. They cannot escape. The material does not readily evaporate and may live longer and grow faster in total mass than previously thought."

This latest study has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers have already announced the need for further studies in order to straighten the older models, especially in relation with future climate change calculations where aerosols are still the big unknown.

Smog is usually caused by the burning of large amounts of coal in cities. In United States, for instance, one of the worst affected areas with smog pollution is the city of Los Angeles.

Air pollution leads to heart attack and cognitive decline

Air pollution is not only a serious environmental issue but also a serious health concern and is known to cause adverse health effects. This was confirmed by three latest studies.

The first study done by French researchers concluded that even the short term exposure to major air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter significantly increases the risk of heart attack.

Many people still fail to acknowledge the fact that air pollution is behind many deaths in industrialized countries as one of the leading factors contributing to cardiovascular diseases (the leading cause of mortality in industrialized world).

The second study was conducted by the researchers at Rush University Medical Center and their conclusion was that the chronic exposure to particulate air pollution is likely to accelerate cognitive decline in older adults, especially older women.

This means that air pollution reduction could lead to a significant reduction of the future population burden of age-related cognitive decline such as dementia.

The third study conducted by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center found that air pollution, even at levels generally considered safe by federal standards, increases the risk of stroke by 34 percent. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States attributing to more than 135,000 deaths per year.