Environmental Risk Perception Paper Psy 460

This source features a report by Jill U. Adams on the dangers, and current regulations of air pollution and climate change. Holding a Ph.D. in pharmacology from Emory University, the author primarily writes a health column for the Washington Post. She has also been featured in the magazines Audubon, Scientific American and Science. Because this article covers climate change, there is an inherent liberal bias. However, this bias coincides with irrefutable scientific data proving the existence of climate change. The audience for this article is anyone effected by air pollution and climate change; just about everyone. This source upholds my speculation that human beings have a significant effect on the climate. Before reading this article, I wasn’t aware that 55 million people a year died from air pollution. I found this source on CQ Researcher while searching for ‘pollution.’

Global climate change is more than just raising the concentration of GHG’s in the atmosphere, it’s a serious health threat. Dr. Howard Koh, of the Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health, has stated that global warming is a threat to human health because of an increase in respiratory and allergy aggravation,

Many doctors have noticed over the past few years that with the warmer climate came more sick patients. According to Document F, seven out of ten members of The American Thoracic Society have reported that climate change has affected their patients. Also, 88 percent of the members said the climate change was relevant to their direct patient care. Many of these patients are thought to have pollen allergies, since pollen season is longer because of the climate change. Also, the frequent forest fires release lots of smoke, which can cause lung problems, including asthma, bronchitis, and chronic lung disease, when we breathe it in. This shows that the climate change is now not only affecting animals and the earth, but it is hurting humans, too.

Air Pollution today has lead CDC's fight against environmental -related respiratory illness, including asthma.An estimated number of 6.5 million deaths are attributed each year to poor air quality, making this the world's largest threat to human health.According to the World Energy Outlook and the IEA estimate that death due to household air pollution in Africa may decrease by 110,00 to 2040.However, due to economic growth, urbanization and automobile emissions, outdoor air pollution may rise from 300,00 to 450,000 over the same period. Am going to be looking at the causes of air pollution. the problems emerging with air pollution and also how we as a community can help decrease the amount of death rate associated with air pollution.I remember growing up in Africa Air pollution was always a talk about a subject that always comes out because it is really contagious due to the fact that we are breathing bad air that is caused by our human contribution to the environment.Air pollution is considered to be a public health problem, it is responsible for most of our health problems after some research has been conducted in many different parts of the world and regions. According to the Geochemistry and Health paleopathological research suggests that air pollution is a form of smoke, plagued our oldest ancestors.Air pollution has emerged as one of the leading risk factors for stroke worldwide.

The author begins the article by discussing the death percentage related to air pollution and what causes the elevated levels of air pollution. Huth continues the article by pointing out that different areas have different problems related to air pollution. Finally, Huth draws attention to the fact that different countries have different solutions to the air pollution. Though this piece was written for the entire United States, the fact that air pollution can be deadly to humans is universally applicable. Though Huth is a reporter and not an environmental scientist, Huth does cite reports made by credible institutions. Though this article talks only about how air pollution is deadly and does not expand the idea to talk about other health complications, the fact that air pollution is dangerous to human health does support my claim that a reduction in air pollution will lead to a better quality of

In today’s society, more and more threats to the welfare of our earth and atmosphere are being discovered. Some world leaders dismiss these concerns, 1) because they choose to remain ignorant of the condition of the planet’s environment, 2) because it would cost them “too much money” to fix the problem, 3) because it is easier not to deal with the problem, or 4) they simply do not care. We cannot simply ignore these problems, for any of these reasons, because the longer we wait to address them, the more dire the situation becomes. The scientists who study these threats to our environment want to solve this issue. That’s what scientists do; they form a hypothesis and test every variable until they find a solution. Mario Molina studied the effects of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) on the ozone, finding that they aided the depletion of the ozone in earth’s upper atmosphere, just another threat to the earth’s environment.

According to scientific studies, climate change could be a responsible factor behind the formation of more ozone smog, and increased production of allergenic pollen (Drought Increases Air Pollution… (n.d.) The health of many people is susceptible to irritation of respiratory system from coming in contact with this polluted air from smog, pollen pollution, and wildfire smoke (NRDC: Climate Change Threatens ....... (n.d.). Anybody can be affected by breathing ozone, but certain age group and disease condition make them more vulnerable. Outdoor workers and even people exercising outside, vulnerable age groups such as children, teens, and older individuals, people with existing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, are more prone to outdoor ozone ”(Ozone Pollution - American Lung…n.d.). Health risk could range from mild "shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing; asthma attacks;"certain individuals might be prone to lung infections; their lungs could be inflamed (Ozone Pollution - American Lung…n.d.). People diagnosed with asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease might face more infections and in need of more care (Ozone Pollution - American Lung…n.d.). According to Natural Resources Defense Council, an approximated "881,500 kids and 2,294,800 adults" are asthma victim per year (Climate Change Threatens Health....n.d.).

The primary health issues that come with the impact of air pollution are asthma, cardiovascular illnesses and premature mortality. These health issues are due to pollution and the poor air quality such as ozone. Thus, human health becomes a concern and issue. The individuals who are usually more vulnerable to such illnesses are the children and elderly. For example, there’s approximately 162,438 children under the age of and 258,586 adults aged 65 years and older in Riverside county that are prone to environmental health illnesses (cdph). According to UCLA institute of the Environment and Sustainability,

Who, in particular, would you identify as being at risk in this environment (e.g., children, women, or the elderly)?

According to article, Climate Change Decreases the Quality of the Air We Breathe, by (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) climate change

In the contemporary world, the importance of the environment, human lives in, which was always debatable, has now become controversial. The substantial influence of global warming has sparked the controversy over the potential impact of this trend on climate change in recent years. It can be agreed that governments as a more powerful body is responsible to control this unwanted change, however, multitude individuals claim that all companies and citizens themselves are part of the solution. This essay will examine all arguments on this contentious issue under scrutiny prior to reaching an informed conclusion.

The importance of climate change, which is always debatable, has now become more controversial. It is believed that climate change has serveral negative impacts, thus it needs to be studied. As far as I am concerned, I strongly concur with the argument that causes and solutions need to be investigated. This article will elaborate the antropogenic impacts and potential solutions and thus lead to a logical conclusion.

Inhaling dirty air can cause throat irritation, watery eyes, burning nose, and can make it difficult to breathe. The two most detrimental common pollutants, particles and ozone, can cause respiratory problems, and aggravate cases of asthma. Certain chemicals that are toxic are released into the air, and this can cause problems like birth defects, brain and nerve damage, long-term lung injury, heart disease, cancer, and sometimes even death. Some of these pollutants travel to the upper atmosphere, which contributes to the depletion of the ozone layer. Depletion of the ozone layer is linked to higher incidences of skin cancer and cataracts. EPA’s enforcement of the programs of the CAA has made significant progress in the reduction of air pollution. This leads to a decline in air quality related ailments, and saves the lives of tens of thousands of Americans each year (Benjamin, G.C., M.D., 2011). This increase in public health would save billions of dollars in public health benefits, which far exceeds the cost of implementing these programs. Some criticism has come against the CAA, claiming that the need for reform is desperate. This line of thought insists that the CAA fails in assuming that all pollutants have “safe” levels. All recent studies, however, have shown that fine particle pollutants are not safe in any quantity. Though detrimental health effects do decline in proportion with the decline of fine

As the earth continues to age, there are many harmful and lasting direct consequences that the earth and the human nature have endured. The earth as well as humans has to digest all the pollution, deforestation, changes in the environment, and the epic fails of humans trying to better the human life through technology and many projects ending up in land fields. All of these issues has caused a change in the environmental causing some risk factors. Nevertheless, although the same risks are prevalent to each person, the perception of the risks is as different as the

Climate change. A phrase that encompasses a vast wealth of information, the totality of which is difficult to fathom let alone concisely elaborate upon in a condensed format such as a course or writing assignment. Through this course, the interconnectedness with which humans influence the balance of climate change is abundantly clear. Ecosystems plants and animals depend on are all connected and influencing one another but these scales are imbalanced, mostly as a result of human activities. The web of interconnectivity in climate change is complex, but there is a reemerging consensus at it’s core that human actions, such as global development, has major ramifications and the health and welfare of people and the environment are paying the price. Those daring enough to say they aren’t influencing climate change haven’t truly examined the many facets of their lives consuming energy and in turn increasing carbon emissions that alter climate. For most, transportation is a necessity. This usage requires energy consumption, most likely in the form of fossil fuel resource depletion and in turn the generation of carbon emissions. Transportation routes by land or sea may alter ecosystems that further elevate carbon emissions. With an understanding that the topic of climate change and carbon emissions is massive at best, the aim of this assignment will be to provide the reader with a basic understanding of greenhouse gases and carbon emissions and the relation to climate change. A