Decades of air pollution undermine the immune system
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Decades of air pollution undermine the immune system
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Re: Decades of air pollution undermine the immune system
#2Anecdotally, moving from India to North America really helped my health. I know this study is about long term effects but I believe even short term , it’s quite noticeable.
It’s why I find it perplexing why so many people in the US want to do away with EPA regulations. Not only was pollution rampant in many Americans lifetimes, it’s completely observable how bad pollution is elsewhere in the world for people.
Re: Decades of air pollution undermine the immune system
#3I have a friend who has this idea that because he grew up in a polluted environment that he is exempt from these things happening. There is no escape from air pollution.
While my friend is used to it, I have an acute response. I try not to visit places with even moderately high AQI.
Re: Decades of air pollution undermine the immune system
#4Future generations will look back in horror at our air quality in the same way that we look back at medieval sewer systems
Re: Decades of air pollution undermine the immune system
#5Anecdotally, moving from India to North America really helped my health. I know this study is about long term effects but I believe even short term , it’s quite noticeable. It’s why I find it perplexing why so many people in the US want to do away with EPA regulations. Not only was pollution rampant in many Americans lifetimes, it’s completely observable how bad pollution is elsewhere in the world for people.
On a tangentially related note, it confuses me why so many people seem to think that the only reason to do away with fossil fuels as much as possible is climate change. Millions die prematurely from air pollution every year. Even if climate change was fake we should still be trying to use cleaner energy.
Re: Decades of air pollution undermine the immune system
#6The pictures of those lymph nodes are shocking. In the Methods section, they state that
> LN tissues were obtained from [...] LiveOnNY, the local organ procurement organization for the New York metropolitan area.
which makes it sound like the samples came from residents of NYC. NYC air quality probably isn't great, but those lymph nodes looked so bad that I assumed they must have come from a hyperpolluted megacity like Beijing or New Delhi!
Cars truly are the worst addiction our society has stooped to.
Re: Decades of air pollution undermine the immune system
#7Anecdotally, moving from India to North America really helped my health. I know this study is about long term effects but I believe even short term , it’s quite noticeable. It’s why I find it perplexing why so many people in the US want to do away with EPA regulations. Not only was pollution rampant in many Americans lifetimes, it’s completely observable how bad pollution is elsewhere in the world for people.
I think it is in large part because people don't appreciate how much worse it could be. The EPA has been so successful we've become complacent.
Re: Decades of air pollution undermine the immune system
#8Future generations will look back in horror at our air quality in the same way that we look back at medieval sewer systems
That is so spot on. We look back in abject horror at people dumping their waste into the streets, yet we do the very same with our air.
Re: Decades of air pollution undermine the immune system
#9Anecdotally, moving from India to North America really helped my health. I know this study is about long term effects but I believe even short term , it’s quite noticeable. It’s why I find it perplexing why so many people in the US want to do away with EPA regulations. Not only was pollution rampant in many Americans lifetimes, it’s completely observable how bad pollution is elsewhere in the world for people.
On a tangentially related note, it confuses me why so many people seem to think that the only reason to do away with fossil fuels as much as possible is climate change. Millions die prematurely from air pollution every year. Even if climate change was fake we should still be trying to use cleaner energy.
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Re: Decades of air pollution undermine the immune system
#10I have a friend who lives in an apartment near a major, major artery in Seattle. It's 6 lanes wide looking out from the balcony directly down onto the street. It's what they can afford in a somewhat close commute to work by bus (they can't afford a car). I lived in an apartment a block from I-5 for 6 years. I've made enough money to buy a house in a neighborhood away from traffic pollution. It was a major part of my purchasing decision.
Zoning often puts more dense and therefore cheaper housing near busy roads. I think a lot about who can afford fresh air and who can't, and the compounding impacts of that quite often.