The Ails Of Air Pollution - 1253 Words

Serena Simoes Biology 21 Poffenroth April 4, 2016 The Ails of Air Pollution: Why Everyone’s Respiratory System is in Danger Our body is a system of complex organs and cells working together every second of the day in order to keep our body functioning properly and in a healthy state. Of these, the respiratory system holds the responsibility of gas exchange, which allows our body to intake oxygen. Without our intake of oxygen, our cells would simply fail to complete any type of function. In order to intake and exhale the proper gases, it’s important that we live in a sustainable environment to maintain the gases in our bodies. Without proper oxygen intake, or the intake of polluted air, it makes it harder for our bodies to do normal†¦show more content†¦This is especially difficult for people living below the poverty line. Just like any other health problem, those who do not have adequate health care struggle to find the proper treatment for health issues such as asthma. In the United States alone, asthma affec ts about twenty five million people, and seven million of which are just children. That means that even at a young age, this exposure to poor air quality affects our health quicker than we think. Within a couple years, children can contract serious lung problems that will affect them for the rest of their lives. With that many people struggling in a country as modern and wealthy as the United States, it’s hard to imagine it being even worse in third world countries. Unfortunately, Haiti is continually hit and hit with more problems. The air pollution in the small country has recently hit the US Environmental Protection Agency’s standard of â€Å"too toxic† to even live in. The citizens of Haiti are more at risk of lung disease and heart disease more than any other developing nation. In contrast to the U.S., Haiti’s air pollution problems are not so much from cars and companies. Instead, Haiti practices a lot of trash burning. A study compared between the U.S. air pollution versus Haiti’s concluded that Haiti’s air quality monitors would blacken in just thirty minutes compared to the United States at around ten to twenty hours before signs of blackening (Bambrick 2014).