Dear readers. This is a guest post by "Bill Hawthorne" who runs maacenter.org, a noble site dedicated to a nobler cause.
Green Living: Improving Health Today and Tomorrow
Much attention has been paid in recent years to what seems to be a growing environmental conscience in the United States. Going green used to be considered expensive and a luxury for those who could afford the trend. Now it appears that we are learning that not only is adopting more environmentally conscious attitudes good for our economic situation, but also our….health? Yes, if we dig a bit deeper we can see that dirty industries and backwards policy is actually harming the health of the earth for our children and the health of her inhabitants today.
How Does Environmental Policy Affect Public Health?
There are two levels of health consequences associated with dirty industry, both direct and indirect. The direct consequences are examples like increased asthma rates in areas with high smog indices. Chlorofluorocarbon release into the atmosphere has shown to decrease the filter of direct sunlight on the planet, resulting in more concentrated ultraviolet light reaching the surface of the earth. Perhaps it is no surprise then that in countries with depleted atmospheric gas, skin cancer rates are among the highest in the world.
The indirect health consequences are harder to see immediately, but closer examination reveals that these are, in fact, perhaps the most hazardous. Bi-products of dirty and backwards industries, such as coal and oil processing, include cancer causing substances like asbestos and benzene. A U.K. study conducted in 2002 indicated that coal and oil industry workers are at a much higher risk of developing Peritoneal mesothelioma (associated with asbestos exposure) and leukemia (traced to benzene and heavy-metal exposure). Dr. Valerie Rusch among many other doctors who specialize in this area understand that these are substances that can be directly traced to antiquated pre-regulation equipment in industries whose environmental hazards are even more inherent.
Can we really afford to continue on the path we were on before? Investment in clean industry means not a healthier planet for our children and grandchildren, but also a healthier place for us to live today.
--June 30, 2009 Written by Bill Hawthorne with the maacenter
http://maacenter.org
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2 comments:
Interesting thoughts...but I have to wonder why our life expectancy continues to increase? Before the industrial revolution our life expectancy was much shorter than it is now and our life expectancy is continuing to increase...I also know that we have come a long way in cleaning up the environment from the turn of the century and even just from the 1950's to the 1970's. Our air quality is better than in the 1970's as is the water quality.
My husband spent many years as an environmental test engineer actually climbing smoke stacks (primarily at coal, oil, and natural gas power-stations) measuring the amount of pollution emitted and those numbers continue to fall as technologies advance.
Just as an FYI...what you see coming from the stack in that image is not smoke it is only steam.
^I know Life Expectancy is increasing. That has reasons like better medicines and medical facilities as one. And slowly, people are realizing the folly of junk food and unhealthy items and are moving away from them. In short, out lifestyle is changing and thankfully for the better.
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