This listicle consists of ten things I learned about the national and global effects of air pollution, or PM2.5. All information and insights were gathered from the article The Weight of Numbers: Air Pollution and PM2.5, published by the nonprofit, editorially independent digital magazine Undark. The interactive article is a fragment of a special project series called Breathtaking, which aims to expose the dangers and truths about pollution and climate change in seven major countries in the world.
1. Air pollution, or PM2.5, is the sixth highest factor of death in the world. What’s worse? It’s a man-made factor that each and every person has contributed to.
2. Racial minorities and lower-income people are most prone to PM2.5 exposure. (Shocker? Not really.) This is most likely due to the poor, unhealthy conditions the system forces those oppressed people to live in.
3. In Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, high PM2.5 concentrations are not just linked to the mortality rates. They are also linked to premature deaths, dysfunctional municipal services, and … wait for it … PoLiTiCaL CoRrUptIoN! (Sound familiar?)
4. Another reason for the high PM2.5 concentrations in Nigeria is the business of illegal makeshift refineries run by armed gangs. Although these operations destroy the environment, the illegal income source provides jobs for many Nigerians, who would end up extremely impoverished without it. (Now that’s what I call a moral dilemma.)
5. In the United States, California has some of the worst air pollution in the nation, and it’s not just because of the number of record-breaking forest fires. The dusty, agricultural land of San Joaquin Valley —the region responsible for a good portion of food on American plates— is home to an enormous, pollution-trapping bowl located in the mountains.
6. And what are the major contributors to air pollution in California, or, better yet, the United States? Cows and cars. Yep, you read that right. COWS.
7. Well, actually, it’s not just the cows’ fault. It’s humanity’s fault, too. In order to take care of the cows, some ranchers and farmers have to truck 6,000 miles a day to get 60 loads of feed to the cows. The long route causes the trucks to release nitrogen oxides from their tailpipes, which then combines and rises with the ammonia gas molecules that emanate from the cow manure.
8. Skopje, Macedonia, a small country in Europe, has some the worst annual air pollution in the continent and on the planet. This is because of the high concentrations of PM2.5 in the winter months, when an increase noxious mix of smoke from fireplaces, exhaust from vehicles, emissions from coal-fired plants, and litany from other industries rise together to create clouds of ash and chemistry.
9. In Macedonia, one plant called Elem is considered “Macedonia’s Chernobyl.” … If that doesn’t tell you how bad it is over there, I don’t know what will.
10. A common concern of each of the seven major countries examined in this special project regards government behavior and response. Many countries —Nigeria, United States, Macedonia— are frustrated with their government’s stagnancy towards reform. Although many of the nations’ leaders have promised to address and fight pollution, there has been a lack of progress and commitment. Citizens everywhere are becoming more frustrated and angry by the day. (And what happens when citizens become more frustrated and angry by the day? … ReVoLuTiOn!)
