Cars, Air Pollution and Health

Update March 2010:
The decision to drive cars long distances to work was common among people in North America and Europe in the past 60 years. Cities grew larger. The development of suburbs often placed homes far from work places; massive road construction encouraged extravagant car use. In retrospect, it is clear that commuters made a mistake and they should stop commuting. Their mistake had health and economic consequences for them personally and for every other inhabitant of planet earth.
Driving a car is the most air polluting act an average citizen commits.



Air pollution is not a good idea for a variety of reasons, large and small. The right ideas for remediation of environmental degradations involve unselfish and compassionate behavior, a scarce commodity. The right ideas involve long-term planning, conservation and a deep commitment to preserving the natural world. Without a healthy natural environment, there will be few or no healthy humans. To understand air pollution you can consider a simple schematic that divides a big problem into components.

1. Local effects -e.g. poisoning humans breathing bad air.
2. Regional effects - fallout from airborne pathogens - infections, particles, chemicals.
3. Global effects - changing interactions between the atmosphere and sun, weather effects, effects on plants and oceans.

Developments in the media made "green" the slogan for action to limit the adverse effects of air pollution. The media often suggested that this is a relatively new consensus that there is an environmental crisis. They excused people who have ignored the effect of greenhouse gases on climates over the past 40 years. Some know what is really going on out there, but most people do not know or know but deny the obvious for selfish reasons.