[Science Solitaire] we are literally polluting our minds right now
We humans are really thorough when it comes to destruction.
How long is one breath? At about $30 billion in 2020, that’s just the market value of fragrance. It doesn’t take into account other non-business measurements of the scents in our lives. It just takes the scent of coffee away from the coffee lover and extends it to all the other scents we can’t live without. , we can feel the irreplaceable “scent” slot in our lives. Are we not urgently opposing and resolving the air pollution inherent in the climate crisis that affects us all?
Only 1% of the world’s population lives in areas where air quality is acceptable according to WHO standards. Yes, 1%. So 99% of us earthlings are breathing air that shouldn’t be breathing. This year, for the first time, WHO made ground-based measurements of annual mean concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), pollutants from our fondness for fossil fuels, and also fossil fuels, massive enough to give us byproducts such as particulate matter and ozone. PM2.5 It penetrates deep into the lungs, joins the bloodstream and damages the body, especially the respiratory and nervous systems, causing very serious illnesses, including cancer.In this context, 99% of people who breathe pollutants is not a statistic. It’s a catastrophe. And with recent discoveries, it’s even more so.
A very recent systematic review of the many studies on the effects of air pollution on the brain shows that not only the climate crisis, but all the greenhouse gases we emit are causing major natural disasters to our landscape, property and health. has been found to cause It’s also wreaking havoc on how our brains, especially early prenatal brain development, and how we regulate emotions in adulthood.
This review evaluated over 200 studies examining the effects of air pollution on brain structure and function and concluded that, unfortunately, air pollution has managed to leave a deep mark on both of these. rice field. Air pollution has been found to cause inflammation in the brain, altering neurotransmitters and neuromodulators such as the “messenger” and “fiscal” brain signals, respectively. It happened in an area of the brain that is key to our emotional life. Ruin them and you’re in the realm of mental behavior.
The verdict of the review noted that air pollution was strongly associated with increased symptoms and behaviors of depression and anxiety, as well as changes in brain regions implicated in the risk of psychiatric disorders. Some of the mental health problems we face today are caused not only by anxiety due to fear of unfathomable disasters brought about by the climate crisis, but more closely by greenhouse gases and particulate matter circulating in the brain. It means that it is also caused by the disaster itself.
The windmill of your mind is literally powered and shaped in part by the fossil fuels present in the atmosphere right now. Pollution inside and outside. We humans are very thorough when it comes to destruction.
Will we hold our breath now that we know that what is causing the climate crisis is literally causing our personal spiritual crisis?
We all know the answer. So what are the more compelling reasons why we need to be against fossil fuels? Even if you are the owner or executive of a fossil fuel company, the pollutants from fossil fuels cannot tell which is the brain of the owner or the brain of the “common man”. The climate crisis is home. How can I get it to go away ASAP so I can literally breathe? Rappler.com
Maria Isabel Garcia is a science writer. She is the author of two of her books, ‘Science Solitaire’ and ‘Twenty One Grams of Spirit and Seven Ounces of Desire’. To contact her, please use sciencesolitaire@gmail.com.