The weight of the world singing sorrow
Global warming is not a myth. The Earth is and has incurred deterioration over the span of many years for countless reasons including, but not limited to, the greenhouse effect, the excessive use of fossil fuels, methane released from landfills and agriculture, and gases used for industrial processes. All of these causes are included in the degradation of the air, adding to air pollution. Air pollution is one of the most damaging processes that effect the environment, and is contributed to in excess every single day. New York City, one of America’s most busy cities, is also one of the most at risk cities to have air pollution related health problems. Compared to areas in other countries, such as Beijing where pollution is much more visible, some people do not think air pollution should be such a worry in New York City, however the concentration of pollutants in the air has slowly been rising higher above the federal standard of clean air, which may lead to many different types of health issues and eventually premature death.
Air pollution is much more subliminal than anything visible to the naked eye. In areas such as New York City, harmful chemical reactions are an abundance that cannot be seen, but are contributed even in the smallest of actions. Abbreviated to PM2.5, particulate matter with a diameter smaller than 2.5 microns is produced by combustion and burning of fossil fuels, as well as chemical reactions between air molecules such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds (Dept. of Environmental Conservation, 2016). All of these reactions can be, and are, caused by activities such as industrial work, driving, charging laptops, leaving the lights on, or any sort or use of nonrenewable electricity. Especially in an area such as NYC, where people are always on the move, public transportation is in action all hours of the day, which adds immeasurably to the pollution of the air. Federal Standards state that humans can safely tolerate 12 micrograms of pollution per cubic meter of air. However, parts of the tri-state area can register anywhere between 12.9-14.7 micrograms. Measurements this high raise local risk by 8.1-24.3% (Engel, 2015). These measurements are not specifically focused on areas like Manhattan, so it is inferred that the closer to Manhattan, the higher the measurement of micrograms. Therefore, New York City, having the highest concentration of both people using electricity and burning fossil fuels, raises its health risk close to 22%. The NYC Health Department estimates that PM2.5 causes over 3,000 deaths, 2,000 admissions into the hospital for lung and heart issues, and about 6,000 emergency room visits for asthma in people of all ages. They also estimate that reducing the PM2.5 by as low as 10% could possibly prevent hundreds of premature deaths, hospital admissions, and emergency visits annually. Lowering the PM2.5 would also result in NYC becoming the “cleanest air of any big city,” which would also result in even more public health benefits (NYC Dept. of Health, 2014). The effects of air pollution are not restricted to any one demographic, whether it be age, race, or gender. Negative health affects affect all New Yorkers, and all people in the world, whether they are conscious of it or not. Though it may seem as though a case of strep throat, asthma, or even a simple bacterial infection may be caused by anything in the natural world, there is a large chance that the pollution of the air had a heavy hand in the illness, directly or indirectly.
Air pollution is not only considered in sicknesses and issues like bacterial infections and asthma, but in serious illnesses that can be detrimental to an affected person’s life. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency described symptoms varying from airway inflammation and sensitivity, decreased lung function, changes in heart rhythm and blood flow, increased blood pressure, increases in the tendency to form blood clots, and biological markers of inflammation (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2009). While these symptoms may seem normal or seem to have other causes depending context of the person, in 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) determined air pollution to be a carcinogenic, one that causes cancers varying from cardiovascular, lung, and respiratory. Air pollution can quickly evolve from something that people cannot help but produce, to a life-threatening, irreversible disease that may or may not take its victim’s life. Cancer of any type is the most concerning and life-threatening diseases in any part of the body. Air pollution has been shown to cause cancers mainly by the heart, lungs, and/or respiratory system, all extremely vital in terms of living and continuing to live. In 2014, WHO estimated that around 7 million people died in 2012 due to exposure to air pollution. That equals to 1 in 8 of the total global deaths that year. In New York itself, the NYC Department of Health approximates the number of New York deaths by air pollution to be 6% of all annual death in the city (NYC Dept. of Health, 2014). Even if a personal outcome is not immediately identified, air pollution can directly cause lung and heart problems, reproduction issues, and failure of the immune system.
The biggest issue with air pollution is that in many places and scenarios, air pollution is all but invisible to the naked eye. It isn’t so much as a second thought, or some people don’t think about it at all as they use electricity all day or drive their cars everywhere. Air pollution contribution is not given a second thought because it is added to in such invisible increments that are part of peoples’ everyday lives. The addition of a single person to pollution in a single day may not be very large in a microscopic view, but in a macroscopic view, all of these small contributions come together in term of both the number of people there are in the world adding pollution to the air at the same time, the continuing contribution for the foreseeable future of fossil fuels, and the amount of pollution and irreversible damage air pollution has already caused. According to the Energy Information Administration, the second most consumed source of energy is motor gasoline, which is very damaging to the environment, the air, and the Earth. The danger of the air is not nearly as apparent as it would be if we could notice it, but effects everyone, aware of it or not.
Air pollution is one of the most detrimental and dangerous second thoughts in the natural world. It has the capacity to kill slowly and cause countless different health problems. As the human race, we are responsible for taking care of the world we live in, and we are doing a pretty shoddy job at it. However, New York has taken strides to become cleaner, especially in light of how much energy and gas the city uses. According to the Energy Information Administration, the most consumed source of energy in 2014 was natural gas, which was consumed over 50% more than the second: motor oil. Natural gas, while still a fossil fuel, is the least damaging to the environment. When combusted the main products of natural gas are carbon dioxide and water vapor, similar to the exhalation of breathing. Other fossil fuels, however, release much more damaging compounds with higher carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur contents (NaturalGas.org, 2013). Since the combustion of natural gas contains the least damaging compounds, it is the safest of the fossil fuels in terms of air pollution, however it is still not completely safe from causing illnesses. In 2012, New York became the first northeastern state to require that all heating oil be ultra-low sulfur diesel in an attempt to curb air pollution, and between 2008 and 2014, sulfur dioxide levels fell 67% across NYC and maintained lower levels through winter temperature fluxuations. The decrease in these levels of harmful compounds also decreases the previously mentioned PM2.5 health risk of people living in the city. 2013 reported that improved air quality contributed to 1,600 fewer asthma related emergency visits to the hospital occurred, as well as 780 fewer deaths per year (Earth Institute, 2016). This means detrimental health affects that have caused any serious damage in the citizens of New York City have dropped drastically from previous years, and if the city continues to lower its sulfur dioxide level, reports of air pollution related health symptoms affecting lives, and taking some will also continue to drop.
While NYC is taking steps to reduce air pollution and its affects on New Yorkers, it still holds as one of the most affected cities by air pollution in the United States. Air pollution is not an issue that can be solved easily, nor can it be reversed once it has been done. The environment cannot recover from the damages of air pollution and global warming, just as victims of air pollution can never fully recover in some extreme cases. Air pollution is an issue in every day life not only in New York City, but in the entire world. NYC is one of the most polluted cities in the U.S., but many other countries are in even worse conditions. While air pollution is almost invisible in New York, in cities like Beijing smog, a haze mixture of various different pollutants, takes over the streets, as well as the lungs, hearts, and respiratory systems of many residents there. Air pollution is not restricted to a certain place. Both air and its pollutants travel and spread into neighboring areas all around the world and affect people all around the world. Even though there is now way to reverse the damages that have already been caused to the environment, we can be sure to do all that we can to ensure that we contribute to air pollution as little as possible, and spread awareness on this invisible predator.
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