Archives

The moving finger by Lionel Wijesiri

We now have evidence that air pollution does more than make sick people sicker. It makes healthy people sick, too.

Every day, the average adult breathes over 3,000 gallons of air. Because they breathe even more air per pound of body weight, children are more sensitive to the harmful effects of air pollution.

A study by researchers at Brigham Young and New York universities report that individuals who breathe air polluted with soot and other minute particles are at greater risk of dying from lung cancer or heart attack. They conclude that long-term exposure to particulates among non-smokers is the equivalent of living with a smoker.

As new research gives us greater understanding of the health effects of air pollution, it's more important than ever to address what we can do to bring about healthy air. The first step in this process is to bring healthy air to the forefront of our thinking. Such thinking, combined with action, is essential to our well-being and to the health of our communities.

Scenario

90 percent of the urban Sri Lankans live in areas that do not meet the current international health standards for carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, lead and particulate matter. Those most at risk of harm from air pollution are children, the elderly, people with heart and lung diseases (like asthma and emphysema), and poor and minority communities who are often in closest proximity to pollution sources. The health effects of lung diseases are particularly troubling because they are irreversible; their effects have lifetime impacts.

Air pollution is taking its toll on our environment, too. Many of our lakes and streams are so acidic that they cannot support aquatic life. Others have such high nitrogen levels that algae blooms are starving out other aquatic life. Air pollution causes haze in our parks and cities. And carbon pollution is altering our climate, and is predicted to cause even more extreme weather patterns, and cause a rise in troublesome diseases. We must make a commitment to protect our natural environment for future generations.

Campaign

We now know that visibility is not always the best measure of how clean the air is. Many air pollutants are almost impossible to see with the human eye.

We need monitoring devices to measure air pollution concentrations and must look to secondary measures such as increases in hospital admissions for asthma during periods of increased air pollution. The air pollution is not just a simple urban phenomenon: It affects the country as a whole.

Taking into consideration the gravity of this issue, isn't it high time for a consortium of our leading civic organisations to inaugurate a genuine 'Right to Clean Air Campaign'. We can take a cue from Bangladesh. In 1995 the Bangladesh Environment Lawyers' Association and the Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust filed a public interest litigation in the High Court demanding the right to fresh air. In March last year the High Court gave eight directives to the Government including banning the environmentally unsound two-stroke vehicles. As a result all three-wheeler taxis disappeared from the streets of the Bangladesh capital Dhaka on 31 December last year.

One vital factor that should be taken into consideration in such a campaign is the importance of involving common man. The programme should not fail to address the problem of the pollution in a holistic manner. We can be harsh on polluting vehicles, but there are other dynamics involved too. A poor man living in an urban city is not concerned about the air he breathes, his concern is how to get his daily bread. Pollution at present is not his priority, on the other hand upper and upper middle class section of the society realise the importance of clean air but they want a vehicle to drive too. The balancing act is missing.

National Policy

There are over 1.1 million motor vehicles registered in our country, 10 % of which are two-stroke three-wheeler taxis. Petrol and diesel have become the mainstays of our economy and society, and the root of many of our most serious pollution problems. On top of this situation, thousands of new chemicals are being introduced into the market every year with either no testing or very limited testing completed.

As we look to the future, we need to invest in renewable energy alternatives and energy efficiency, alternative transportation modes, and in alternatives to toxic chemical use in manufacturing. All forms of energy have a cost to the environment and therefore we value conservation of energy first before promoting air pollution controls. Likewise, individuals also must help to reduce air pollution by demanding cleaner products and making better energy and transportation choices.

We cannot hold our breath until we reach a place that is free of pollution.

The decisions made by individuals, communities, businesses and government all contribute to the dangerous air we breathe daily.

No one owns the nation's air field, or has the right to do with it as they please. The atmosphere should not be treated as the society's disposal ground, and our children's lungs should not suffer the consequences of such actions. We must promote national policies that guarantee the air is safe to breathe for everyone.

Politicians and others responsible for crafting our environmental policies must be reminded that clean air is not a luxury we can live without. It's a birthright, and one that's worth fighting for until our last breath.

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager