Category:Air Pollution

Is Smog Getting Worse?

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China, Energy & Air Pollution

Air Pollution Across the World

Beijing's Air Pollution

http://photo.sf.co.ua/g/115/10.jpg

March 2017

China Premier Pledges: ‘We Will Make Our Skies Blue Again’

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BEIJING — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has pledged to make the country's skies blue again and "work faster" to address pollution caused by coal burning.

His words to delegates at the opening of the National People's Congress highlight how reducing smog has become a priority for the leadership because of public discontent.

In a report to China's ceremonial legislature, Li said that "people are desperately hoping for" faster progress in improving air quality.

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Global Updates

● https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/17/air-pollution-kills-more-people-in-the-uk-than-in-sweden-us-and-mexico

http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/255336/1/9789241565486-eng.pdf

People in the UK are 64 times as likely to die of air pollution as those in Sweden and twice as likely as those in the US, figures from the World Health Organisation reveal.

"It is deeply tragic that around 3 million lives are cut short worldwide because the air we breathe is dirty and polluted. In the UK, air pollution is a public health crisis hitting our most vulnerable the hardest – our children, people with a lung condition and the elderly."

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One Day's Toxic Air News Pulled from the Headlines

http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21716672-pollution-shortens-londoners-lives-between-nine-and-16-months-plan-clean-up-britains

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-air-pollution-levels-soar-as-mayor-issues-exercise-warning-a3464436.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/european-smog-27-times-more-toxic-chinese-air-pollution-china-quality-a7572051.html

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170210084550.htm

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http://e360.yale.edu/features/origins-of-north-indias-air-pollution

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http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-air-pollution-alzheimers-20170131-story.html

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http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/news/20170210/air-pollution-may-raise-risk-of-type-2-diabetes#1

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https://qz.com/905656/air-pollution-is-increasing-in-africa-along-with-rapid-urbanization/

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170202122751.htm

Decades ago Mexico City's air pollution was so poor, birds would fall out of the sky -- dead. Locals said living there was like smoking two packs of cigarettes a day, according to one report. In response, Mexico City took several steps to try to improve air quality including restricting driving one or two days during the weekdays. The program has had negligible results.

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The Statistics, the Health Impacts, the Damages of Lives -- and What Are the Solutions?

http://www.who.int/phe/health_topics/outdoorair/databases/cities/en/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_pollution

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_polluted_cities_by_particulate_matter_concentration

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A Lung Specialist Explains

https://www.britannica.com/science/air-pollution

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Making Progress: Models of Environmental Initiatives that Have Made a Difference

Los Angeles, the 'worst in the world' in air quality in the 1950s. Now LA and California are 'out in front' of clean air and environmental initiatives, providing models of what can be done nationally and internationally.

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/dec/02/where-world-most-polluted-city-air-pollution

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news/10-of-worlds-20-most-polluted-cities-in-India-List-inside/articleshow/52249911.cms

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/08/world/asia/india-pollution-who/index.html

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/06/which-is-the-worlds-most-polluted-city/

http://www.lung.org/images/ala-logo-head.png

http://www.stateoftheair.org/2015/city-rankings/most-polluted-cities.html

http://www.stateoftheair.org/2014/city-rankings/most-polluted-cities.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32352722 - Breathing Poison

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Smog, or ground-level ozone, causes a host of respiratory consequences, ranging from coughing, wheezing and throat irritation, to asthma, increased risk of infection, and permanent damage to lung tissue.

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Via the Guardian, 2016 / “We have a public health emergency in many countries from pollution. It’s dramatic, one of the biggest problems we are facing globally, with horrible future costs to society,” said Maria Neira, head of public health at the World Health Organization. “Air pollution leads to chronic diseases which require hospital space. Before, we knew that pollution was responsible for diseases like pneumonia and asthma. Now we know that it leads to bloodstream, heart and cardiovascular diseases, too – even dementia. We are storing up problems. These are chronic diseases that require hospital beds. The cost will be enormous.”

The toxic haze blanketing cities could be clearly seen last week from the international space station.

Poor air quality is killing millions and threatening to overwhelm health services across the globe.

With nearly 1.4 million deaths a year, China has the most air pollution fatalities, followed by India with 645,000 and Pakistan with 110,000.

The latest scientific research, published in the journal Nature, suggests that air pollution now kills more people a year than malaria and HIV combined, and in many countries accounts for roughly 10 times more deaths than road accidents.

According to the WHO, air quality is deteriorating around the world to the point where only one in eight people live in cities that meet recommended air pollution levels.