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Cassidy Michael Shore

Enc 2135 Rob Cole

The Health Gap Caused by Air Pollution

Living in the United States has limited my exposure to many

harmful and toxic pollutants that citizens of other countries are

plagued by, and with growing global climate concerns and rapidly

increasing populations public officials are considering placing

global air quality standards to protect the people in third world

and developed countries. This discussion is made exceptionally

complicated by the many different aspects that go into

determining the severity of the impacts presented by air pollution

in different regions and countries. This global issue has been

tossed back and forth between upper and lower governments as

well as global counsels, and many other groups and organizations

all wondering what can be done to ensure the under privileged

are not being affected more heavily by harmful pollutants and

what, if any, links exists between the strength and organization of

a country and the influence of pollution on respiratory health of

citizens.
Some defining topics in the discussion about the relationship

between global health and pollution include race, class, location,

along with many others. However, often the first, and potentially

the most influential factor is the level of

The Health Gap Caused by Air Pollution

government involvement and influence in industry and economic

policy. In the United States our air quality is not a topic discussed

in daily conversation because we are blessed to have a strong

central government that has set many key laws and regulations

on big businesses that prevent their factories from releasing

damaging amounts of the toxic chemicals that cause illnesses

such as COPD and asthma into our environment. In other

countries, this is not the case. China is a very well-known

industrial power in todays global economy, known for being the

source for most of the luxuries we enjoy here in the United States.

However, this industrial might come at a great price to the

citizens of this new found super power. China is known to have

some of the worst air quality in the world which is primarily

centered around their many super cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

In fact, the air quality in Chinese cities is so poor that according


the Wall Street Journal Beijing reported a meager 25 days in which

they experienced good air quality out of 2028 days between April

2008 and March 2014. The booming manufacturing industry

comes with harmful byproducts that are accumulating in chinas

environment causing huge negative consequences for the

inhabitants. Although China has is a very well established and

developed country the government has deregulated business

placing no restrictions on the amount of

The Health Gap Caused by Air Pollution

pollutants plants and factories can produce leading to severe

degradation of environment and huge health effects on citizens.

Similarly, some countries in Africa and Asia lack many of the

principles of an organized central government and rely more on

local order that varies village to village. This key difference from

most western counties divides and complicates the solution to

this issue because it limits the ability to agree upon what is

considered safe. For example, Sudan just went through one of the

bloodiest and most destructive civil wars the country has ever

experienced, leaving much of the countrys resources depleted

and its people left to fend for themselves. In the wake of war
Sudan has split into two countries with little or no central

government in which to enforce any laws or even make laws in

the first place. Thus, the impoverished people of Sudan have been

left to govern and provide for themselves. Not only have people of

third world countries been proven to cause the most harm to their

environment, but even worse perhaps, is the lack of education

and intervention in the dangers of harmful chemicals and

pollutants leading to people in these poor areas falling victim to

an issue in which they have no control. Included in an article

published by the International Journal of Environmental Research

and Public Health was a list of questions given to poor citizens

living in slums concerning the level of

The Health Gap Caused by Air Pollution

awareness about pollution and its adverse effects. The results

were startling; both places that were visited reported very low

percentages of the population that understood where pollution

originates as well as how harmful each is to human health. The

lack of education present in these communities is a key issue in

this discussion because people like this with no knowledge about

pollution leaves these people surrounded by a silent killer. In both


cases rates of respiratory illness were elevated and the

governments lack of intervention is responsible providing ample

evidence supporting the higher likelihood of abuse of the

environment in the absence of regulations and restrictions on

industries that produce expel large quantities of toxins.

As Americans one of the most taken for granted resources

we indulge in is our clean fresh water and air that all citizens are

entitled too and take advantage of every single day. Upon

examining the links previously discussed and the governments

role in preventing the abuse of those resources I began to

question who might benefit from the governments around the

world not protecting their citizens from the harms of these

carcinogens. This lead me to recall the period of Americas

industrial revolution. During our industrial revolution, the

presidents slashed regulations on big business opening the

market to allow companies to

The Health Gap Caused by Air Pollution

essentially do whatever they wanted leading to gross

mistreatment of employees and a sharp increase in health issues

related to the same pollutants found in todays air. Comparably,


countries like China often collude with big corporations providing

breaks and special advantages to the ones that choose to operate

out of their country. Not only does this drop the price of goods for

the citizens of China, but provides huge economic gains for their

economy. In addition, many government officials receive benefits

like financial backing and support from these corporations in

return for these huge cuts on regulations. This system of

favoritism leads to the saturation of their atmosphere with

pollutants and results in the horrible air quality China is infamous

for. The relationship between big business and government varies

only slightly from country to country leaving the public with

minimal influence. The financial gains that these countries

experience from deregulation are causing many governments to

sacrifice public safety and it has become so common that rather

than try to fix it many have just accepted it as their way of life.

There is also a flip side to this situation in non-developed and

developing countries that causes that same issues to ensue. In

places like the middle east, industries like oil drilling pay a

countrys government for rights to

The Health Gap Caused by Air Pollution


The Health Gap Caused by Air Pollution

their supply. In the process these rigs produce huge amounts of

chemicals that, when added to the already high level of air

pollution due to motor vehicles, harm

local communities tremendously. People living near these rigs and

in large population centers show much higher rates of respiratory

distress and COPD per an article written by Amer Aziz, the health

department in Punjab recorded increases in the number of cases

of at least six different respiratory illnesses between 1999 and

2002. The hot, dry climate combined the carbon monoxide and

other combustion byproducts in this region create a very adverse

environment for the lungs and is strongly correlated with the

steady climb in illnesses. Although the strong correlation exists,

the government has done nothing to aid in this fight to improve

human health and reduce harmful air pollution.

Common factors that also influence a persons likelihood to

develop a respiratory illness are their personal aspects like age

and class. Longitudinal studies show that elderly people, children

and pregnant women specifically are universally more susceptible

to the effects of these pollutants. Such pollutants can cause a


wide range of issues including birth defects, cancers, asthma, and

many other potentially deadly illnesses. An experiment included

in an article from

The Health Gap Caused by Air Pollution

Population Health Metrics found a very high correlation between

nitrogen dioxide exposure in small quantities, which is a

byproduct found in motor exhaust and other combustion

reactions, and birth defects in newborn babies. Prior to the 2008

Beijing Olympics the Chinese government placed a cap on

emissions in hopes to combat their out of control air quality

problem in hopes of improvement for the games. The researchers

and medical staff at Haidian Maternal and Child Health Hospital

studied the frequency of birth defects related to air pollution

before and after the cap went into effect and found that for every

10 unit increment a babys birth weight will, on average, decrease

by about 14 grams. The typical health effects associated with

pollution are considered to be primarily respiratory, however this

article highlights the far-reaching effects by introducing a group

that is not directly breathing or exposed to the pollution in the air

yet still experiences its impacts. This is vitally important in


understanding and emphasizing the role government can have

because with reductions or caps on emissions statistics like these

can be reduced or eliminated. This article also illustrates the lack

of power of the individual. A mothers instinct to always do what is

best for her baby can be one of the most unstoppable forces on

the planet, yet they have no power over a problem affecting their

babys health as

The Health Gap Caused by Air Pollution

well as their own. Children, expecting mothers, and the elderly

however, are not the only victims of this worldwide epidemic.

Middle aged men are viewed, in many cultures, as the strongest

and fittest of their population, but in a longitudinal study

conducted by the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences in

Nagasaki, Japan, researchers recorded a group of non-smoking

men and women alive in the 1960s and less then 65 years old in

2009. The study monitored their frequency of illness as well as

their overall respiratory health between 2000 and 2009 aimed to

test the effects of pollutants like sulfur dioxide on childrens long

term health. Although the participants overall health did not vary

largely from year to year, over the course of the whole study their
health decreased significantly due to the air pollution present

both in their childhoods and in present day. Until the 1970s

pollution was not considered a very important issue allowing

industry to run wild with practically no limit on their ecological

footprint. This lack of regulation resulted in many careless

practices and environmental disasters such as the Love Canal,

that are subsequently partly to blame for the growing number of

illnesses and deaths related to pollution. Since the 1970s the

United states has been a leader through example by passing laws

and regulations that set specific limits on industries to help

reverse the adverse effects.

The Health Gap Caused by Air Pollution

Society as we know it presently faces issues and challenges

that previous generations would have never been able

comprehend or predict. Throughout history humanity has viewed

growth as entirely positive, raising huge families, conquering new

lands, and claiming anything that does not already belong to

someone, however this growth is now causing major problems for

our environment. When an ecosystem can no longer support

anymore organisms sustainably it has reached its carrying


capacity and if the population continues to grow then the

ecosystem and all its inhabitants will suffer. Sandra Postel

discusses in her article about Earths carrying capacity how

humans have rapidly reduced our planets carrying capacity due

to our unsustainable practices and gross entitlement to natural

recourses. She highlights this misuse and abuse of our resources

when she states, It may be the ultimate irony that, in our efforts

to make earth yield more for ourselves, we are diminishing its

ability to sustain life of all kinds humans included.. As our

global population grows at an exponential rate the demand

resources grows too, and as each country competes with one

another for these resources our supply shrinks and the harmful

byproducts remain. Without proper moderation and control of the

consumption of our resources as well as reduction in the

production of harmful pollutants such as

The Health Gap Caused by Air Pollution

carbon dioxide, public health will continue to deteriorate as

populations grow exponentially. Although the exact carrying

capacity of our planet remains unknown it is known that if the

current means of consumption continue our population will not


last very long at all. In developed countries, the growth rates of

their populations are considerably lower than third world and

developing countries because of the greater chance of children

living to adulthood.

The rapid growth in global populations have sent the

demand for goods and resources through the roof and have

consequently put a massive strain on our environment. People of

all ages, races, and social classes are more likely then ever to

develop a chronic respiratory illness in their lifetime and little is

being done to correct this alarming fact. Air pollution is one of the

leading causes of deaths globally and is predicted to make the top

of the list not so distant future, and in countries like Sudan or

China people are helpless to change their own fate until global

change is brought about. The clean and plentiful resources we

enjoy in the United States today could become a very achievable

standard for the rest of the world if unity is reached.

Annotated Bibliography
1.Philip. (2016, May 22). Off-campus access. Retrieved February 26, 2017,

from Reviews on Environmental Health,

http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/agricenvironm/docview/179026

4262/abstract/512E167E7C0A422DPQ/3?accountid=4840In-line Citation:

(2016)

This article provides exact numbers of deaths and disease related

to pollution that are startling to say the least. A link is discussed

in the article that that helps to emphasize the world wide

epidemic of pollution and the far reaching and long lasting

impacts its having. It compares the air quality crisis to the aids

epidemic presenting numbers suggesting that poor air quality is

taking more lives annually then AIDS. I can use this article for its

stark comparison by numbers of deaths related t pollution around

the world and specifically middle and lower class regions of the

world.
2. Amer. (2007, March 23). Off-campus access. Retrieved February 26,

2017, from Environmental Monitering and Assesment,

http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/agricenvironm/docview/499588

307/18DFBF565B2F4F1FPQ/9?accountid=4840In-line Citation:(2007)

This article focuses of the development of COPD and other

diseases specifically in middle eastern cities and regions of hot,

dry climates. It shows a strong correlation between respiratory

illnesses in the general population of urban pollution in cities in

Pakistan specifically. It targets pollutants such as carbon

monoxide and other compounds produced by motor vehicles and

how these components in our air today are slowly weakening our

lungs and the potential consequences if emissions are not

lowered.

3.:Thaddaeus. (2013, October ). Off-campus access. Retrieved February

26, 2017, from International Journal of Environmental Research and Public

Health,
http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/agricenvironm/docview/146892

9399/fulltextPDF/18DFBF565B2F4F1FPQ/27?accountid=4840In-line

Citation:(2013)

This is one of the more influential articles because it describes the

thoughts and opinions of local people in Nairobi slums and how

the public opinion differs from the reality of the health impacts

these people are experiencing. This article shows the huge gap

between the level of education about the risk factors of pollution

and the action being taken to counteract the damage that has

been done. This leaves the people in middle and lower class

countries particularly susceptible to diseases caused by pollution.

4.Teija. (2009). Off-campus access. Retrieved February 27, 2017, from

Basic and Applied Ecology,

http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/docview/772272510/6EBDF78

551CE4F99PQ/15?accountid=4840In-line Citation:(2009)
This article offers information about some of the effects of acid

rain on plants species. It also provides a good argument about

these affects harming the ecosystem instead of just the base of

the food chain. This article offers hard facts from an experiment

preformed illustrating the concept of bio magnification and how

acid rain is felt in all levels of an ecosystem instead of exclusively

the primary producers. I can use this as evidence of the

widespread harm humans are causing to all species.

5.Izzoti. (2000). Off-campus access. Retrieved February 27, 2017, from

European Journal of Epidemiology,

http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/docview/18081266/6EBDF785

51CE4F99PQ/21?accountid=4840In-line Citation:(2000)

This article discusses the effects of short term localized pollution

events such as that in Pennsylvania in 1948. It provides numbers

and stats about the death rates and rates of serious respiratory

illness in areas that experienced large scale pollution disasters.

The studies conducted in this article expand on disasters like that


in Pennsylvania and Russia events and how they affect people

involved in the long term in the local areas surrounding the

impacted area. Many of the studies conducted show differences in

the outcomes of certain disasters in which different pollutants

were present and the means of contamination varied, but each

one strongly supports the suspicion that the victims suffered

much higher rates of illnesses like cancer then people that went

unaffected by the accidents discussed.

6. Sachin. (2010, December ). Off-campus access. Retrieved February 27,

2017, from Inernational Journal of Chemical Engeneering and Application,

http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/docview/1439551680/7BD99B

F0D34748E7PQ/80?accountid=4840In-line Citation:(2010)

This article provides a variety of causes for the rapid increase of

pollution on Earth. It highlights deforestation, burning of fossil

fuels, and the increases in population as some of the major

causes and also identifying specific pollutants that are to blame

for a lot of these health concerns. Included are also some possible
ideas on how to slow the progression of global pollution and how a

globe that was less polluted might look. Further, it offers

connections between these causes creating a good relationship to

use in my paper.

7.Takako. (2013). Off-campus access. Retrieved February 27, 2017, from

BMC Public Health,

http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/docview/1428990299/6EBDF7

8551CE4F99PQ/42?accountid=4840In-line Citation:(2013)

This article focuses on a longitudinal study that was conducted to

study the affects of air pollution on a set population of

nonsmokers in Japan. It sought to find a link between air pollution

in the 1960s and the respiratory health of men living during this

period. It studied this between the years 2000 to 2009 and

recorded data that supported the hypothesis they presented. This

is useful to my paper because this offers actual data to support

claims of the pollution impacts on global health.


8. Bobo. (2015). Off-campus access. Retrieved February 27, 2017, from

Science of the Total Environment,

http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/docview/1660068658/6EBDF7

8551CE4F99PQ/96?accountid=4840In-line Citation:(2015)

This article provides a possible counter look at my claim because

it shows that pollution in the upper atmosphere can be reduced

slightly with the introduction of precipitation. Precipitation has

been shown to reduce the ppm of pollutants in the atmosphere

acting as a scrubber of the upper levels of the atmosphere. This

point can be countered in my paper by drawing on the

replacement periods of certain pollutants back into the

atmosphere. The rapid replacement of these pollutants renders

this opposing side weak and lacking in credibility.

9. Neide (2011). A review of low-level air pollution and adverse effects on

human health: Implications for epidemiological studies and public


policy. Clinics, 66(4), 681690. doi:10.1590/S1807-59322011000400025In-

line Citation:(2011)

This article provides a different perspective on air pollution from a

view of governments. It describes that in many countries the

governments have set standards to high to really be effective in

protecting people. It also focuses on the impacts motor exhaust

has on pollution levels, siting this to be one of the most crucial

aspect in reducing harmful air pollution. I can use this in my paper

to illustrate the process governments go through to determine

what is considered to be safe air and why some governments

might deliberately set their standards higher then recommended.

10. Huang, C., Nichols, C., Liu, Y., Zhang, Y., Liu, X., Gao, S., Ren, A.

(2015). Ambient air pollution and adverse birth outcomes: A natural

experiment study. Population Health Metrics, 13(1), . doi:10.1186/s12963-

015-0050-4In-line Citation:(Huang et al., 2015)


This article offers a study that points out a dangerous link

between nitrogen dioxide, in small quantities, and the high risk of

birth defects in infants. This presents a new component to the

argument that has not been previously addressed. Mothers can

transport pathogens and pollutants from the outside world to their

unborn babies and its causing babies to be born with disabilities.

Groups around the world are pushing to improve water and air

quality standards around the world due to this growing issue in

most third world countries in an effort to combat this issue.

This adds another direction to approach the debate on pollution

and provides evidence showing the staggering effects human

byproducts can be on our environment.

11. EPA, U. (2016, September 12). Health effects of ozone in the general

population. Retrieved February 27, 2017, from Health Effects of Ozone in

the General Population, https://www.epa.gov/ozone-pollution-and-your-

patients-health/health-effects-ozone-general-populationIn-line Citation:

(EPA, 2016)
This article educates the public about a commonly misunderstood

molecule that both helps and hurts the global population. Ozone

is great in the upper levels of the atmosphere because it shields

Earth from radiation in space. However, when this molecule

accumulates at lower levels the effects can be felt immediately.

This molecule is responsible for much of the smog present in

urban cities and causes illnesses such as asthma and COPD.

Ozone is common on days that are hot and are often the main

cause when air quality alerts are issued by weather services

globally.

LOG IN - PROQUEST

In-text: ("Log In - ProQuest", 2017)

Your Bibliography: Log In - ProQuest. (2017). Search.proquest.com. Retrieved 27

March 2017, from

http://search.proquest.com/docview/204820924/384322F0EF294D8FPQ/3?

accountid=4840

This article discusses the wasteful method mankind is following in resource

consumption and how the expansion of the global population is placing greater

strains on the supply of vital resources. The author discusses the exponential
growth of our population and how this growth rate cannot be carried on much

longer. This is helpful in building my argument because it shows growing

importance of this issue and what will likely be our future if change is not initiated.

MA, W.

Beijings Bad-Air Days, Finally Counted

In-text: (Ma, 2017)

Your Bibliography: Ma, W. (2017). Beijings Bad-Air Days, Finally Counted. WSJ.

Retrieved 27 March 2017, from

http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/04/14/beijings-bad-air-days-finally-

counted/

This article comes from the Wall Street Journal and it discusses

the epidemic that Chinas major cities are facing daily. It outlines

specific pollutants and their effects on the population as well as

statics about the air qualities in the city of Beijing China. This is
useful because it states the very slim amount of good air quality

days experienced in Beijing between 2014 and 2015.

Rhetorical Rational

As I began writing this paper I was immediately

overwhelmed by the vastness of this assignment and all that it

encompasses. I began by forming an idea about what I wanted to

focus on and try to argue and then researching my topic to find

potential information about my topic. After gathering my articles

about my topic and forming a question in which to argue, I wrote

my annotated bibliography outlining what each article is about

and how it could be applied as well as my first draft to give my

thought and ideas a body that can be edited. I did not write any of

this project by hand, however doing it all on my computer allowed

me to find and site my sources much easier than if I had hand

written it. The technology that was utilized during the source of

this project made the process much more achievable. In writing

these different drafts it showed me how different my process can


be each time I sit down to write and that editing and revising is a

very vital step in my writing process. The revision process is so

important to my paper because aside from the obvious copious

amount of errors, the editing and revising process often shines

new lights on angles I hadnt seen before allowing me to take my

writing in new directions and develop my argument further.

Based on my one on one meeting I completely altered my

annotated bibliography because I was told it wasnt nuanced

enough and that I would face challenges in writing about it. I

corrected the method of introducing and siting sources in my

paper after the writing workshops because I was not following the

proper method throughout my paper. Having access to countless

sources at my fingertips helped immensely sped up and assisted

in forming my paper.

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