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Research Shows Air Pollution Affects Our Brains in No Good Very Bad Ways
Multiple studies link air pollution with neurological and mental health issues, even in wealthy nations like the United States.
The first time I remember seeing abundant air pollution firsthand was in 2007 on a Chinese freeway while on vacation with my family. I was nineteen at the time and looking out the backseat window of a van, though I can’t recall which city we were in or where we were going. But I do remember the buildings being mere silhouettes amidst the dense fog of pollution. The sheer density surprised me so much that I took a photo above.
It’s easy to feel removed from the problems of air pollution when your sky doesn’t look like that image. But the truth is air pollution is a growing crisis with serious health risks already affecting hundreds of millions of people, including in wealthy countries like the United States.
Considering the increasing amount of headlines and research being published on the topic, it seems time to stop ignoring the issue. Even if there’s not much we can do as individuals to fix it, we should still be aware of the situation for when we can do something. Or if nothing else, to better protect ourselves and our loved ones the best we can.
