Everyone knows of the infamous Spring cleaning. In fact, there probably isn’t one person on the planet who doesn’t dread the Spring cleaning: Dusting, vacuuming, clearing out the wardrobe and decluttering the seasonal decorations and cupboards, without mentioning the overall house maintenance. Does that sound like a nightmare to you? It’s by far the last item on everybody’s list of to-dos, but it’s still a necessity. Do you know what else is a necessary cleaning that people and nations together put at the bottom of the to-do list too? Cleaning the air. Air pollution deserves to be on top of your priority list, starting from today!
What are the real risks of air pollution?
Air pollution is not a hot topic now. It’s been part of the everyday news for the past 40 years. But scientifically, we’ve needed a long time to understand the risks that it represents for the planet. Air pollution holds the primary responsibility for chemical reactions such as acidic compounds, which can cause serious damages to plants and buildings. When sulfuric acid combines with the water droplets in clouds, this creates acid rain which can harm wildlife, rivers, and soils. As ground level, air pollutants build a poisonous gas ozone and exist in the form of particulate matter. Particulate matter, or PM, stands for a mix of liquid droplets and small particles that can harm your brain development, your lung, your heart, your pancreas and even the development of a fetus for pregnant women.
Are the risks real?
The description of the risks of air pollution tends to be a little alarming. So it’s only fair to ask yourself how much of it is actually true. Here’s a straightforward answer for you: Air pollution kills. In 2007 it led to the death of 3.45 million people around the world, with 22% of the deaths being caused by pollution created by products that were not consumed locally. In other words, air pollution travels to kill locally and internationally. Consequently, living outside of heavily polluted areas offers no protection.
What can be done to clean the air?
How can we best tackle air pollution? The answer is simple: Nations need to address the air quality and actively treat the air to clean it. Denmark is one of the first countries to have implemented effective air pollution solutions that have reduced the atmospheric pollution to less than one fifth if the pollution levels of the late 1970s. To do so, local authorities rely on catalyst and scrubbers to clean the air. They also reduce the carbon dioxide emissions through a Carbon Capture Storage mechanism.
What can I do to tackle pollution indoors?
At your personal level, reducing car travel is a great way to limit your carbon footprint. But you also need to reduce the presence of pollutants inside your home. Indoors plants such as a spider plant, Chinese evergreen or weeping fig can actively purify the air in your home. Removing toxic particles improves your health and your mood.
Air pollution is an important topic that we can’t ignore anymore. It’s time to start local petitions to lobby the local authorities into taking actions. The air your breathe is precious. Its cleanliness brings life.
What are you doing to help air pollution and protect the air quality in your home?
Would love to hear your ideals and comments!
SHARED ON HEALTHY HAPPY GREEN & NATURAL BLOG HOP!
Hi Marla
You are so right! Air pollution is an important topic that we can’t ignore. It is literally an invisible threat that we live with daily. Thank you for sharing these valuable tips for cleaning the air at the Healthy Happy Green & Natural Party. I’m Pinning and sharing this!
HI Deborah,
Air pollution is a very serious issue that cause a lot of health and environment problems. Thanks for stopping by, commenting, and hosting the Healthy, Happy & Green & Natural blog hop.