Air pollution continues to diminish the quality of life for people in America and worldwide. Studies have proven that contaminants in the atmosphere cause lung cancer, breast cancer, and many respiratory related problems, including asthma, an inflammatory disease which affects the lives of millions of people across the globe. The World Health Organization has estimated that 235 million people live with asthma.
A ten percent increase in asthma cases occurred among children in the U.K. over an eight year period. Since the 1980’s the number of Americans who suffer from the disease has increased by at least 60 percent, with no sign of slowing down. Between ten and twelve percent of the children in the U.S. are believed to have asthma and this percentage is expected to rise. Many people believe these statistics are being caused by childhood obesity, a decrease in physical activity among children, smoking and poor air quality in the home. All of these factors play a role, but pollution in the atmosphere has undoubtedly increased the amount of asthma cases in recent decades.
It has mostly been assumed in previous years that genetics had the most control when developing asthma, but the link between pollution and respiratory diseases has been exposed. We cannot protect people from the contaminants which already exist in our atmosphere. It's not possible to remove air pollution, or repair the damage inflicted against the environment, but we can prevent any further harm. Through the power of democracy, laws can be passed to keep cancer causing carcinogens from being released into the air. Regulations can be created that would value public safety over the profits of top polluting corporations. But unless people identify air pollution as a serious problem or realize who is responsible and how to address the issue, the rise in asthma cases will not cease.
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