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Nataly Abreu

English Composition 102.04

Final Draft Researched Essay

01 May 2019

Worldwide Education: A Preventable Measure for Air Pollution

Imagine being in a place where you could no longer call “home” due to having this

feeling of suffocation because of how bad the air around you is. According to an article called

“What is Air Pollution?” by Conserve Energy Future, air pollution defined as contaminated air

because of harmful substances, irrespective of indoors or outdoors (“What is Air Pollution?” par.

1), has been increasing over the years. The fact that it is growing over time is also leading to

more harmful diseases, such as cardiovascular and respiratory illness, which leads to more deaths

worldwide. Furthermore, for the mortality rate (because of cardiovascular and respiratory

diseases) to have a significant impact on and decrease, air pollution should start declining before

it is too late. A considerable solution to stop this problem includes educating worldwide about air

pollution and its preventable measure, which deals with educating about its causes, effects, and

resources (e.g., face masks).

Air pollution is not a recent problem. It all comes from back in the middle ages when

coal, “a solid fuel formed over millions of years by the decay of land vegetation,” (“Fossil Fuels”

par. 2), was introduced. According to an article called History of Air Pollution, by Enviropedia,

it explains how air pollution was mostly born when industries, found in towns and cities, started

to burn coal in order obtain heat. “These often brought cities to a halt… but more dangerously

causing death rates to rise dramatically,” (“History of Air Pollution” par. 2). Individuals have
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tried throughout the years to find ways to decrease air pollution. For example, in 1963 in the

United States, the Clean Air Acts was introduced, which presented “the basic principle of use of

tall chimneys for industries burning coal, liquid, or gaseous fuels” (“Clean Air Acts” par. 1).

This act was mostly introduced to make a decline in the smoke that was going to the air. But,

although it helped decline it at that time, air pollution still had a way to come back.

When using cars, airplanes, or any public transportation, individuals are not aware of the

fossil fuels that gets out from it and how it goes into the air and

pollutes it. The picture on the right published by The

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,

OECD, shows how 50% of death caused by air pollution are

mostly because of road transport (“The Cost of Air Pollution”).

By providing education to early childhood in which students

learn the importance of walking or using bicycles, rather than

using cars, there would be a decrease in mortality rate due to air

pollution.

As air pollution keeps increasing, the mortality rate also increases due to the diseases that

contaminated air brings (e.g., lung cancer, asthma attacks, pneumonia). The most affected by

these diseases includes all vulnerable individuals, in this case, children. As The United Nations

Environment Programme, UN Environment, explains, “air pollution affects the human body in

the short and long terms, in ways are detrimental to health” (“Young and Old” par. 1). Air

pollution affects those that are most vulnerable because of not only their immune system being

too weak, but also because of their daily activities. For example, UN Environment gives the
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example of children while walking to school. It says how a report by The United Nations

Children's Fund, UNICEF, demonstrated that children are mostly exposed to intoxicated air,

mostly from traffic, while they are either walking to school or while they are playing outside

(“Young and Old” par. 2). Since those two activities are primarily present in their daily lives,

UNICEF found out that because of that, data showed that children have a higher health effect

because of air pollution rather than adults.

In England, the rate of children that walk or cycle to school decreased by around 2% in

2017. Matthew Taylor, environmental correspondent, explained in his articled how “New figures

from the government’s National Travel Survey show that the percentage of primary school who

walk or cycle in England fell from 53% to 51% in 2017,” (Taylor 2). The fact that children are

no longer able to walk to school leads to an increase of obesity, which can be preventable if

children learn at school on how to at least, protect themselves from the contaminated air. In other

words, education will not only decrease air pollution but also, might lead to a decrease in other

diseases (e.g., obesity).

It is also explained by UN Environment how air pollution affects a majority of babies

(unborn, newborn, and young children) because they have a higher risk of acquiring any disease

since their immune system is weaker in comparison to adults (“Young and Old” par 6). Also, air

pollution is not only leading to multiple premature deaths but also, the suffering of families since

they are loosing a new member. As Mike Warren explains in his article, “Can Pollutants in the

Environment Disrupt Immune Function?” all living things depend on their immune system for

protection (1). The article also goes in-depth with some anatomical concepts. For example, it

mentions T-cells, which are a “group of specialized immune cells that fight foreign invaders”
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(Warren 4). We can imagine T-cells as police officers since they protect the human body by

using their best weapons to stop all the “bad guys” which are the viruses or bacterias.

Unfortunately, these police officers are not strong enough when it comes to air pollution. Warren

explains a research study from Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley

which demonstrated how pollutants found in the air impedes with the police officer’s job, which

is to protect a person’s body from anything harmful, meaning that these police officers, T-cells,

can no longer do their job (Warren 5).

To at least, minimize the effect of air pollution on the immune system, humans should

protect themselves more often. As Karin Volpp-Gardela explains in his article “Ways to Protect

Yourself from Air Pollution,” some options that serve as protection include inspecting air quality

found outside (1). The United States Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, explains that to

inspect air quality, a person can use an ambient air monitoring (1). If air is too polluted, the

safest option includes staying inside. But, if required to go out, the second most reliable option is

a mask that protects the air breathed by an individual. Furthermore, global education should be

essential, and it should explain to individuals about face masks and ways to protect themselves

from contaminated air.

After the enormous expansion of smog in China, masks have become a “daily accessory”

(Wyns, Welle 12) to multiple individuals in many cities found in China. As Arthur Wyns and

Deutsche Welle explain in their article, “Life Behind a Mask - China’s Cities Still Choking on

Smog,” multiple individuals have been dealing with smog, a type

of pollution created when smoke and fog get mixed in the air, for

a long time (Wyns, Welle 14). The picture on the right published
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by USA Today, demonstrate a Chinese woman who is wearing a mask while riding her bicycle

during a regular day in Beijing. A mask that helps to decrease the exposure of bad quality air for

Chinese citizens and many other individuals around the world, including some in the United

States. Furthermore, individuals need to learn that this masks are mostly use at a certain level,

which according to Prana Air, “respirable pollutants PM 2.5 and PM 10 should be at 60 and 100

respectively” (5), anything higher will be consider to be dangerous and an anti-pollution mask is

necessary.

Air pollution and the use of face masks have not only increased in China but also, in the

United States, more specifically, in Northern California. As Katharine Schwab, associate editor,

explains in “The Depressingly Big Business of Pollution Masks,” there has been an increase of

fire in California, leading to more smoke contaminating the air which is bringing up more

individuals buying N95 particulate respirator masks (Schwab 2). Masks that can clean out around

95% of the particles that a person inhale, as Schwab stated, “local officials recommend for

protection from wildfire smoke” (Schwab 2). For that reason, it is necessary that at least, anyone

exposed to contaminated air should wear an anti-pollution mask and should be teach at schools,

programs, or by the use of social media how to properly use anti-pollution masks.

When talking about educating worldwide, it is mostly including teaching children so that

they learn at an early age on how to prevent air pollution and how to protect themselves. But,

adults and adolescents must be conscious of it too. By the use of social media, such as Instagram,

Facebook and Snapchat, groups or single individuals can create awareness to stop polluting the

air. For example, Michael Hansen explains in his article, “New Campaign Uses Storytelling to

Promote Clean Air,” how Gasp, non-profit organization, and the American Lung Association
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(ALA) in Alabama created a new campaign called “Voices to Clean Air” in which they will

“bring awareness to the health effects of breathing polluted air” (1). The project mostly consist

on publishing real-life stories with pictures and videos on how contaminated air affects the health

of a person.

Another way to educate individuals, mostly children, is incorporating mandatory

environmental classes to schools. Since students will learn about environmental topics, more

specifically, air pollution, some, if not all, will know what causes this type of pollution and how

they can stop it at an early stage. In this class, students will learn about how to prevent it and

what they can do in their daily activities to decrease air pollution and make a better future for

themselves before is too late.

In a Journal by The National Center for Biotechnology, NCBI, named “Air Pollution

Intervention: Study Links Use of Face Masks to Improved Cardiovascular Outcomes,” Julia R.

Barrett, environ health perspective, explains the relationship between air pollution,

cardiovascular diseases, and anti-pollution mask (1). She first started talking about how the

exposure of particles in the air “increases cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, especially in

populations with underlying cardiovascular diseases” (Barrett 1), which means that individuals

with heart diseases have a higher chance of dying if exposed to contaminated air. Barrett

mentions a research study in which face masks utilized by individuals exposed to air pollution

and whether or not it had any positive effect on their health (3). As a conclusion, they found out

that face masks “improves several cardiovascular health measures in people with coronary heart

diseases” (1), since it mostly prohibits the entrance of any dangerous particles (e.g., carbon

monoxide) to the lungs and heart.

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Air pollution also affects the lungs, leading to multiple respiratory diseases (e.g.,

pneumonia), and it also contributes to worsening symptoms for various respiratory illness. The

most common one that has the greatest negative effect is asthma. An article published by the

Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America,​ named “Air Pollution,” explains how researchers

studied individuals with asthma in a clean environment and then in a contaminated environment.

Results demonstrated that those individuals exposed to air pollution “were 40 percent more

likely to have acute asthma episodes…” (3).

Air pollution does not only affect asthma, but it also leads to more cardiovascular and

respiratory diseases. The picture on the right,

published by the National Institute of

Environmental Health Sciences,

demonstrates a chart that explains which air

pollution diseases are mostly leading to an

increase of mortality rate. Ischemic heart

disease and stroke are the most common

cardiovascular diseases that, as shown in the

picture, are around 80% of illnesses caused by air pollution (40% Ischemic heart disease and

40% stroke). Furthermore, teaching about air pollution and the respiratory and cardiovascular

diseases that it brings to a person’s health, will lead to more individuals to start taking care of

themselves more often, meaning that they will also take care of the air around them.

Not all individuals agree that environmental education should be teachable to students.

As Daniel T Blumstein and Charlie Saylan explain in their book ​The Failure of Environmental
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Education (and How We Can Fix It),​ published in 2007, it is revealed how the money used for

the environment class gets wasted because “out of the classroom, people have failed to make the

link between their actions and the environmental condition” (Blumstein, Saylan). But, as Daniel

Meier and Stephanie Sisk-Hilton explain in “Nature and Environmental Education in Early

Childhood,” it is essential for teachers to “integrate nature and environmental studies into their

curriculum” (3) to see a positive impact on the environment.

Another disagreement when talking about air pollution is that anti-pollution face masks

are not as effective, Carolyn Crist explained. As she stated in her article “Face Masks Available

to Consumers may be Ineffective Against Air Pollution,” face masks mostly depends on a

person’s face size and shape (Crist 2), which means that it might not fit everyone the same,

which leads to more individuals inhaling more harmful particles than others. But, face masks will

still protect individuals from not inhaling 100% of the bad quality air around them, which means

that they will at least be protected.

To, at least, decrease this problem, air pollution should become an awareness that

matters to people and individuals should start incorporating the solutions giving above to their

daily activities, such as using face masks. Universal education will lead to a decline in air

pollution since individuals will discover the causes and effects and how to prevent air pollution.

Another important topic that needs to be a significant awareness for society is how to protect

themselves from contaminated air to avoid respiratory diseases and cardiovascular diseases (e.g.,

utilize resources available such as face masks). As Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the

most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” (1). For that reason, educating
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about air pollution will, at least, make a significant impact on the future by declining the rate of

polluted air worldwide.

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Works Cited

History of Air Pollution​, www.enviropedia.org.uk/Air_Quality/History.php.

Fossil Fuels,​ www.enviropedia.org.uk/Air_Quality/Fossil_Fuels.php.

Clean Air Acts​, www.enviropedia.org.uk/Air_Quality/Clean_Air_Acts.php.

“AAFA.” ​Air Pollution and Asthma | AAFA.org,​ www.aafa.org/air-pollution-smog-asthma/.

“Air Pollution Accounts for 1 in 8 Deaths Worldwide, According to New WHO Estimates.”

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences,​ U.S. Department of Health and

Human Services,

www.niehs.nih.gov/research/programs/geh/geh_newsletter/2014/4/articles/air_pollution_a

ccounts_for_1_in_8_deaths_worldwide_according_to_new_who_estimates.cfm.

Barrett, Julia R. “Air Pollution Intervention: Study Links Use of Face Masks to Improved

Cardiovascular Outcomes.” ​Environmental Health Perspectives​, National Institute of

Environmental Health Sciences, Mar. 2012,

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3295371/.

“Causes, Effects and Solutions of Air Pollution.” ​Conserve Energy Future,​ 14 Apr. 2019,

www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-effects-solutions-of-air-pollution.php.

“The Cost of Air Pollution - Health Impacts of Road Transport - En.” ​OECD,​

www.oecd.org/env/the-cost-of-air-pollution-9789264210448-en.htm.

Crist, Carolyn. “Face Masks Available to Consumers May Be Ineffective against Air...” ​Reuters​,

Thomson Reuters, 3 May 2018,

www.reuters.com/article/us-health-airpollution-masks/face-masks-available-to-consumers-

may-be-ineffective-against-air-pollution-idUSKBN1I426I.
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“Managing Air Quality - Ambient Air Monitoring.” ​EPA​, Environmental Protection Agency, 28

Aug. 2018,

www.epa.gov/air-quality-management-process/managing-air-quality-ambient-air-monitori

ng.

Meier, Daniel, and Stephanie Sisk-Hilton. “Nature and Environmental Education in Early

Childhood.” ​The New Educator,​ vol. 13, no. 3, 2017, pp. 191–194.,

doi:10.1080/1547688x.2017.1354646.

“New Campaign Uses Storytelling to Promote Clean Air.” ​Gasp,​ 8 Mar. 2019,

gaspgroup.org/new-campaign-uses-storytelling-promote-clean-air/.

“Safety First: Why Should You Wear An Air Pollution Mask ?” ​Prana Air,​ 7 Dec. 2018,

www.pranaair.com/blog/why-you-must-wear-air-pollution-mask/.

Saylan, Charles, and Daniel T. Blumstein. ​The Failure of Environmental Education (and How

We Can Fix It)​. University of California Press, 2011.

Schwab, Katharine, and Katharine Schwab. “The Depressingly Big Business of Pollution

Masks.” ​Fast Company,​ Fast Company, 14 Nov. 2018,

www.fastcompany.com/90267077/the-depressingly-big-business-of-pollution-masks.

Strauss, Valerie. “Nelson Mandela on the Power of Education.” ​The Washington Post​, WP

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www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2013/12/05/nelson-mandelas-famous-qu

ote-on-education/.

Taylor, Matthew. “Fewer Children Walk or Cycle to School despite Air Pollution Fears.” ​The

Guardian,​ Guardian News and Media, 27 July 2018,

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www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/27/school-run-children-walk-cycle-drops.

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alternative-health-concepts.com/can-polluta-in-the-environment-disrupt-immune-function/

Wyns, Arthur. “Life behind a Mask - China's Cities Still Choking on Smog.” ​USA Today​,

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king-smog/1046241001/.

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