Solution For Pollution Muhammad Arham Harun, Syauqi Darussalam Lutfi, Andi Asyura Alikha, Andi Tiara S. Adam Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia
Short Description
“ I’ m going out for a breath of fresh air” seems to be a phrase we often hear. Unfortunately today, that“ fresh air” isn’ t exactly fresh, thanks to the number of motor vehicles emitting deadly pollutants. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, motor vehicles produce dangerous pollutants like NO, NO2, CO, and etc. Research suggests that motor vehicle emissions contribute to about 90 % of air pollution as well as climate change.
The exposure from these pollutants will not only affect our environment, but also our health, by creating mild symptoms such as watery eyes, coughing, or wheezing. But, long term exposure will lead to severe respiratory irritation and diseases, including asthma, lung cancer, and COPD. As the result, air pollution created 3.7 million deaths globally, and 1.67 million of it occurred in Western Pacific and South East Asia. From the perspective of a citizen from this area, combatting this issue must become our priority.
Unfortunately, tackling this issue has become difficult especially for high risk countries such as Indonesia. Motor vehicles has grown by 10 percent every year, bringing the total of 16 million in 2016. Secondly, vehicle owner are extremely dependent toward their vehicle even in short trips. Both factors combined in making unhealthy living pattern and even more polluted air.
However, there is one way to combat both the health and environmental issues air pollution created, which is bicycle. The Copenhagen cohort study stated that cycling reduced the risk of all-cause mortality by 28 %, including the risk of developing cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, even cancers. Not to mention that we can improve our air quality, reduce transport-related greenhouse emissions by 0.4 %, and lower noise levels. With all these benefits, we believe that we can bring back the fresh air by reducing the use of motor vehicles, and start biking.
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