‘Commercial institutions, proud of their achievements, do not see that healthy living systems – clean air and water, healthy soil, stable climates – are integral to a functioning economy.’
Paul Hawken, an American environmentalist, entrepreneur, author, and activist
Air pollution is one of the most serious problems in the world because it affects quality of life of hundreds of millions of people.
Why air pollution exists?
It all started with Industrial Revolution – the transition from hand production methods to new manufacturing processes including using machines to produce and building factories.
Earlier, before the 18th century, the number of factories were limited. Factories worked only for a certain number of hours a day, so pollution levels were not that significant. But after factories became full-scale industries, pollution has been appearing in more and more places on Earth.
These days companies produce more products because people want to buy more goods on daily basis, not necessarily need to. It is important to know the difference between human needs and wants. Lots of goods being sold nowadays in the supermarkets and local retail stores are of low quality. They break after just a few months, e.g. crappy toy cars with wheels falling apart, ugly polyester clothes or smelly rubber sports shoes that hurt your feet.
The producers of low-quality products are primarily to be blamed for increased pollution because they aim to generate more profit by selling those kinds of products that miss long-lasting quality. It is obvious that many companies would not be able to sell more, if a customer bought a product which could be used for 10 years, as it was often the case in the past. Would they?
Big multi-national companies, which embraced mass production, also influence billions of people around the world through illicit promotion methods claiming in various TV commercials, newspaper advertising and on billboards that owning a lot of things is what makes people happy. And hundreds of millions of people blindly trust various companies and media, which are basically owned by the same groups of people, and buy more products hoping to be happy one day.
Why people get manipulated so easily, you may ask.
One of the reasons is because most people in the world lack education, even basic education, which teaches us how to think critically, how to analyze to distinguish good from bad, how to come up with reasonable conclusions and how to make choices.
That is why business education is so important for creating better quality of life for all of us on this planet.
Another reason is that a very small group of people, usually a few families, controls a huge portion of the economy in each country, including major industries and mainstream media which tell people what to think, instead of teaching people how to think.
Thirdly, and unfortunately, very few people dare to speak out that buying more products on impulse leads only to short-term happiness. Many personal finance bloggers do though.
So, is the development of our planet really going in the right direction?
Negative effects of a lack of clean air
When it comes to air quality, living in a very polluted city, where the air is either moderately polluted or heavily polluted throughout half of the year, is a true hell. Lack of clean air negatively influences millions of people. Lack of clean air shortens our lives.
Particle pollution refers to the toxic exhaust emitted by processes like smoking or driving a car, and ozone pollution refers to an invisible substance present in smog. Heavy particles in polluted air exacerbate breathing problems and cause respiratory diseases including colds, chronic bronchitis, pneumonia, emphysema, asthma, lung cancer and many more pulmonary diseases.
When the air is polluted, we may experience temporary symptoms such as irritation of the eyes, nose and throat; coughing; phlegm; chest tightness; and shortness of breath. These symptoms should go away when air quality improves. If they do not, you should see a doctor.
Many modern cities in India, Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, Korea and the US (more than 40% of Americans live in cities with unhealthy air) suffer from heavy smog. Most of the companies which generate pollution include coal energy manufacturers, utilities providers and car manufacturers.
When living in a polluted place, neither we can do any outdoor exercises, or even enjoy a breath of fresh air in the morning because the air smells like coal. It is a pity that such a basic thing like the right to breath has been slowly taken away from human beings by so called ‘industrial development’. Is it the right kind of development?
In the contrary, cities with the lowest level of pollution are located in Canada, some places around the United States, Finland, Iceland and Sweden. Definitely worth exploring!
