Pollution as a Disaster, for more reasons than you'd think! (old post, 10 Apr. 2014)

We all know that pollution is and has been a serious issue for as long as every human on this planet has lived. It's been drilled into our heads since elementary school, and probably before that as well. But for whatever reason, nothing drastic is being done, and I assure you that drastic measures are needed. It may be our inability to relate with other life that is being noticeably affected by our pollution, our greed and laziness not wanting to change policy and technology to lessen emissions, but something that we can all rally around and understand, even the most ignorant among us are the human lives and our overall health that are being affected by this blatant negligence.

According to BBC news, it has been found recently that "Long-term exposure to air pollution contributed to more than 28,000 deaths across the UK in 2010, government figures show." And not only is this in total, but this is every year in the UK, particularly in the wealthier districts of London, and the southeast of the country. The government figures were produced by a study conducted by Public Health England, revealing that "5.3 per cent of all deaths in over-25s were linked to air pollution, although the figures varied considerably by region. Authors of the study said people whose death was hastened by pollution lost an average of 10.6 years of their lives." Imagine that, on average this pollution causes a loss of 11 years on an effected person's life. The amount of accomplishments and good that can be done in 11 years is immeasurable. This is definitely a man made disaster that can not go shrugged off as a "necessary evil" to turn a profit any longer. There are plenty of ways to combat pollution and utilize new green technologies, and while it may take a lot more time and money than we're putting in, it is completely worthwhile to the entire world, and coming together on this issue for once and actually make something happen is long overdue.

Something incredibly scary I heard about the other day then did some further research on was the fact that the US Navy has come up with a way to utilize sea-water (one of the Earth's most abundant resources if not the most) abundant as fuel, and it could be made into jet fuel for $3-$6 in the next decade, and its proven to work. CNN calls this a "game changer" and I completely agree with that statement. How is it that this technology that is completely clean burning, incredibly abundant, and more effective than current propulsion catalyst that we're not investing in it and working on it right away? Simply put, it's the power of large oil industries in the economies of nearly every western developed nation and our economic reluctance to let go of what we know. It could save tens of thousands of lives in the long run, and put an end to the smog that covers an unacceptably large portion of Asia. That number mentioned prior, 28,000 is nothing to ignore. It's about 10,000 more than the total wounded in Afghanistan yearly,  and significantly more than the yearly death toll of around 7,000. This isn't just a crisis, it is a disaster that human negligence will not let us push past.

 One final addition that I thought to be relevant in regards to pollution. There has been sensational coverage in the search for flight 370 lately, all over Asia. And according to the Washington Post "Five weeks into the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, crews have not been able to locate the plane’s wreckage. What has become clear as the massive search continues is the staggering amount of trash in the Indian Ocean." There is so much trash in the Indian Ocean currently that it is actually difficult to find remains of an aircraft. It has been recorded that there are detached buoys the size of RV's that are just floating around, and countless numbers of plastic bottles. The Washington Post also writes that "The majority of the pollution, however, is smaller than a grain of rice. Over a long period of time, plastics are eventually broken down by sunlight and waves until they become particles that are invisible to the naked eye. These small particles still pose a problem for wildlife and potentially humans. Environmental groups are concerned that pesticides and chemicals latch onto them. Marine animals then ingest the particles, which either kills them or enters our food supply." Is it acceptable to eat entire bottles of plastic when consuming fish? The health risks associated with doing that are unimaginable. 

We are single handedly as a race destroying the Earth slowly but surely. The main cause of extinction of species is habitat destruction, and that is exactly what we are doing to ourselves, and it is resulting in the deaths of thousands, as well as many more to come. Coming together as a race and destroying borders is the only way we will rectify this issue, and without cooperation, this disaster could be what finally ends our long prosperous time on this planet, and possibly even end the planet itself.

Articles Used:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/10/tech/innovation/navy-new-technology/

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-26973783

http://www.ecorazzi.com/2014/04/10/search-for-flight-370-reveals-terrible-pollution-problem/