http://www.iflscience.com/environment/over-95-percent-of-the-world-is-breathing-unsafe-air/
Seven billion people, over 95 percent of the world’s population, are breathing air that contains unhealthy levels of pollution. 60 percent of the world is living in areas that don’t even meet the most basic standards of air quality.
The findings come from the State of Global Air 2018 (PDF), an annual assessment by the Health Effects Institute (HEI).
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Tomi Engdahl says:
New research: Cervical deaths and atmospheres have a connection
The recently published study in BMJ Open deals with the short-term changes in certain atmospheric concentrations and the unexplained sudden deaths of totally healthy babies.
The study found a connection between cache fatalities and airborne particles (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide concentrations (NO2).
Other atmospheric pollutants were not found to be relevant to the mortality of infants. The study found an increased risk of cache death for two days after exposure to elevated levels of nitrogen dioxide. Elevated without low particulate concentrations appear to increase the risk of sudden death for up to five days after exposure.
Source: http://www.iltalehti.fi/terveysuutiset/201804232200896394_we.shtml
Tomi Engdahl says:
Earth Day 2018: 6 gadgets to help you go green
Go green this Earth Day (and every day) with these eco-friendly devices
https://www.electronicproducts.com/Sustainable/Research/Earth_Day_2018_6_gadgets_to_help_you_go_green.aspx?utm_source=Aspencore&utm_medium=EDN
The 48th celebration of Earth Day this month will be buzzing with talk of our impact on the environment and what we can do to live in harmony with it. If you want to show support for Mother Earth, don’t think you have to abandon your electronics, because there’s no shortage of eco-friendly technologies available.
Tomi Engdahl says:
To save itself, humanity needs carbon-capture tech by 2030, warn scientists
https://www.electronicproducts.com/Sustainable/Research/To_save_itself_humanity_needs_carbon_capture_tech_by_2030_warn_scientists.aspx
World’s first carbon-capture station brought online in Iceland last May. The CO2 market was worth $6 billion in 2015 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 3.7% through at least 2025.
Tomi Engdahl says:
100% renewable by 2050 — how close can we get? Very close, but it’s not cheap
https://www.electronicproducts.com/Sustainable/Research/100_renewable_by_2050_how_close_can_we_get_Very_close_but_it_s_not_cheap.aspx
Could all of the countries that supported the Paris agreement on climate change subsist on 100% renewable energy by 2050? According to the latest research out of Stanford University, it just might be possible. In a study published in Joule, Cell Press’s new peer-reviewed journal focused on advancements in sustainable energy, Mark Z. Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford, posits that 139 countries could rely entirely on wind, water, and solar power by the midpoint of this century.
In the study, Jacobson and 26 of his colleagues examine each country’s renewable energy resources and assess how many wind, water, and solar energy generators each nation would need to construct to be 80% renewable-energy-reliant by 2030 and 100% reliant by 2050. According to their estimates, only about 1% of the total available land and rooftop space would be needed to accomplish these goals. Countries with large open swathes of land, such as the United States and China, will have the easiest time making this transition, according to the study. Smaller countries with less undeveloped land area may need to build offshore solar paneling in neighboring bodies of water to meet the 100% threshold.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Traffic pollution prevents children’s brains from reaching their full potential
https://horizon-magazine.eu/article/traffic-pollution-prevents-children-s-brains-reaching-their-full-potential_en.html
Traffic pollution in European cities can stall children’s brain development and stop them from reaching their full potential, according to a Spanish study that measured air pollution in 300 classrooms.
Researchers involved in the BREATHE project found that the distance to the nearest road significantly influenced the levels of harmful invisible particles in classrooms and ultimately slowed brain growth in children.
The harmful effects are due to tiny particles released from vehicles, especially diesel engines. The invisible flecks of carbon are so small that once you breathe them in, they can cross from the lung into the bloodstream and then travel to the brain.
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HEALTHENVIRONMENT
Traffic pollution prevents children’s brains from reaching their full potential
17 July 2017
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High pollution is linked to slower growth in the region of the brain where decision-making, social behaviour and complex thinking are believed to happen. Image credit – ‘Automobile exhaust gas’ by Ruben de Rijcke is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Traffic pollution in European cities can stall children’s brain development and stop them from reaching their full potential, according to a Spanish study that measured air pollution in 300 classrooms.
Researchers involved in the BREATHE project found that the distance to the nearest road significantly influenced the levels of harmful invisible particles in classrooms and ultimately slowed brain growth in children.
The project, funded by the EU’s European Research Council, examined 3 000 children in 40 different schools across Barcelona and discovered that those that inhaled more air pollution performed worse on computer tests. The harmful effects are due to tiny particles released from vehicles, especially diesel engines. The invisible flecks of carbon are so small that once you breathe them in, they can cross from the lung into the bloodstream and then travel to the brain.
‘They stimulate immune cells and produce an inflammatory effect at various levels of the brain,’ explained Professor Jordi Sunyer, lead scientists on the BREATHE project and senior researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Spain.
Each student was tested four times, leading researchers to find that a high-pollution day before a test could even affect a child’s performance. Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were even more susceptible to pollution particles.
The tiny particles of carbon are often surrounded by heavy metals, hydrocarbons and other chemicals known to be bad for health, which are already linked to heart disease, lung cancer and stroke, as well as pre-term births and diabetes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
China’s Xian chokes on smog specks ‘harder than steel’
http://m.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2148173/chinese-city-chokes-smog-specks-harder-steel
Researchers in pollution-prone Xian test the properties of the city’s bad air but health specialists say the bigger concern is just how small the particles are
Tomi Engdahl says:
Global heatwave: Climate change is no longer a two-way debate – Dr Peter Stott
https://horizon-magazine.eu/article/global-heatwave-climate-change-no-longer-two-way-debate-dr-peter-stott_en.html?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=share
Tomi Engdahl says:
Air Pollution Causes ‘Huge’ Reduction in Intelligence, Study Reveals
https://science.slashdot.org/story/18/08/28/0113202/air-pollution-causes-huge-reduction-in-intelligence-study-reveals?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29
Air pollution causes a “huge” reduction in intelligence, according to new research, indicating that the damage to society of toxic air is far deeper than the well-known impacts on physical health.
Air pollution causes ‘huge’ reduction in intelligence, study reveals
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/27/air-pollution-causes-huge-reduction-in-intelligence-study-reveals
Impact of high levels of toxic air ‘is equivalent to having lost a year of education’
Tomi Engdahl says:
Just Another Day on Aerosol Earth
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/92654/just-another-day-on-aerosol-earth
Take a deep breath. Even if the air looks clear, it is nearly certain that you will inhale millions of solid particles and liquid droplets. These ubiquitous specks of matter are known as aerosols, and they can be found in the air over oceans, deserts, mountains, forests, ice, and every ecosystem in between.
If you have ever watched smoke billowing from a wildfire, ash erupting from a volcano, or dust blowing in the wind, you have seen aerosols. Satellites like Terra, Aqua, Aura, and Suomi NPP “see” them as well, though they offer a completely different perspective from hundreds of kilometers above Earth’s surface.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Particles From Polluted Air Have Been Detected In The Placenta For The First Time
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/particles-from-polluted-air-have-been-detected-in-the-placenta-for-the-first-time/
It’s no secret that a mother’s exposure to pollution can harm her unborn child. Studies have linked polluted air to many a health problem, including premature birth, low birth weight, and infant mortality as well as childhood obesity, high blood pressure, respiratory problems, and brain abnormalities.
Now, we might be closer to understanding why. For the very first time, researchers have found evidence that microscopic carbon particles find their way to the placenta.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Spikes In Air Pollution Linked To Higher Rates Of Miscarriage
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/spikes-in-air-pollution-linked-to-higher-rates-of-miscarriage/
The study, published last month in journal Fertility and Sterility, has found that high levels of air pollution were associated with a 16 percent higher risk of miscarriage in the US.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mustien keuhkojen maa
https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-10771287
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