(Xinhua/Then Chih Wey)
Air pollution causes heart and lung diseases and kills more people than AIDS and malaria combined. Last week the World Health Organisation published a report in which it concludes that, on top of the previous mentioned health issues, there is enough evidence that:
exposure to outdoor air pollution causes lung cancer (Group 1) and also a positive association with an increased risk of bladder cancer.
Particulate matter, a major component of outdoor air pollution, was evaluated separately and was also classified as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1).
This means that air pollution is placed in the same category as tobacco smoke, UV radiation and plutonium. Even though the air quality in the western countries has slightly improved in the last years, the pollution is China has seriously worsened.
Will this be the eye opener that pollution doesn't only ruin the environment and indirectly damaging our health, but it now also has been scientifically proven to directly kills human beings (and animals)?
You would think that one day, on a bright sunny spring morning when people make a romantic walk in the forest with loved ones, they are not able to see the top of trees, are coughing their lungs out through a (sexy!) mask, and can't look each other in the eyes because the eyes are too irritated by the smog, our environmental conscious (and common sense) should kick in and make us realize that we have passed the point of doing nothing..... A while ago.
And even though there is nothing good to say about this environmental crisis, I must admit I'm glad to see that for once the poorest countries in Africa are not at the top of an index....
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