This chapter made me rethink, as well as reinforced a lot my my feelings about the environment and how much we put into the worlds pollution and how we participate in global warming. We have protective measures, that we are slowly breaking down- and this is the ozone layer. It forms a protective stratum in the earths atmosphere and the highest level of our atmosphere reaches about 30 miles.
There are several examples in which our air can be polluted, we often think the pollution of the outside world is the most prominent, but it is not limited to this. Have we heard of second hand smoke, or tobacco smoke in and of itself? It’s considerably the highest source of indoor air pollution. It’s the most common, and effects not just the smoker, but everyone in the home as well.
There are several other forms of indoor air pollution, this include home heating, asbestos, formaldehyde, radon, lead, mold and sick building syndrome. We may be clueless to a lot of these things, but there are steps to take to make sure we are prepared for the worst. Formaldehyde and Radon are gases found in the home, both colorless, the latter having a stronger than radon. Making sure you are all making conscious timely checks around the house, to keep yourself self are the ket factors to staying clear.
Asbestos and lead are typically found in homes made in the 70’s or 80’s, lead found in paint, asbestos found in insulation, piping, roofing and so on. Making sure you are aware of each, and properly removing, and or sealing off either, is important to your health, IF you decide to stick around in the home. This year, my landlord decided to do over the entire apartment, removing all the lend paint in my house, and laying down a fresh coat.
Greater than air pollution, we have to look at the bigger picture: global warming and climate change. Over 100 years the average temperate of the earth has increased by 1.5F and it’s projected to rise another 2F to 11.5F in the upcoming 100 years. The chapter is filled with tons of facts on how we are loosing land, water levels are raising, and how the earth is reaching record breaking temperatures.
The world is made up of 75% water, and of that only 1-2% is available for us to drink- why do you think that is? Beyond high costs of desalinization, and other inaccessible water, a lot of this is polluted. What we are doing on land eventually trickles down to the sea, whether it is littering, plant wastes, and so on, it all makes it into our lakes and oceans. While it seems difficult to control, we can make conscious and conservational moves, to better our water. Don’t be wasteful, and by that I mean let’s not run the water if we aren’t using it- that can be when we are brushing our hair, doing dishes, brushing our teeth and so fourth. Also, let’s keep an eye out on high efficiency items.
Keeping on the topic of pollution, let’s identify some of the land pollution habits we have picked up over the years. Ridding ourselves of batteries improperly, throwing EVERYTHING in the trash, without consideration of recycling or composting, and last but not least: LITTERING. We can always make good decisions with our trash, if we put our mind to it. I’ve done composting in the past, and it’s pretty simple- take any organic waste that you have no use for (food scraps, trimmings, etc) and allow it to decompose, turning into great fertilizer for plants. I’m a plant junky, so anything for my plants!
Also, something that caught my eye this chapter was the section on radiation, and where and how we can easily be affected by it. There are two kinds of radiation, non-ionizing, which is radiation at the lowest end of the electro magnetic spectrum. It’s enough to move atoms, but not enough to remove electrons or alter molecular structure. We can see this in TV’s, microwaves, infrared waves, and visible light. Ionizing is caused by the release of particles and electromagnetic rays from atomic nuclei- we see this in uranium, emit radiation. The sun is another source of high frequency ultraviolet rays. If taken in in high doses, we can get sick, experiencing nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, anemia, sore throat and hair loss.
All and all there is a lot to consider when looking towards a sustainable future. There are a lot of things we can do, as individuals, making small changes in our day to day, to make this world a better place. We can start purchasing package-less items, and bringing our own reusable bags to the stores with us. Usable items don’t start there, we can bring our own cups to coffee shops, and we even get discounts for doing so.
We all can do our part and I have certainly been doing mine. I have my own reusable bags and mugs and take them every where I go. The gym has been looking slow for me this week, finals and last minute work has been kicking my butt harder than my diet. Everything else in my health journey is going great, and I hope everything is falling into place for everyone else!
Monica's Road To Health 