1 year ago
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A poisonous haze made the air over New York temporarily more hazardous than any other place on Earth. Thank fossil fuel billionaires, writes Kate Aronoff in The Guardian.
In a nutshell:
Unprecedented wildfires in Canada, fueled by rising temperatures and dry conditions, have caused a poisonous haze that blanketed the northeast, making the air quality in New York City worse than anywhere else in the world. A study reveals that 88 of the world's top greenhouse gas-emitting companies, including Saudi Aramco, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Gazprom, and BP, are responsible for half of the additional dryness and 37% of the area burned by wildfires in the western US and southwestern Canada.
Key quote:
"It makes sense that anyone facing conditions as awful as those caused by the smoke this week would get angry. The trick is to get angry at the right people: fossil fuel billionaires who couldn’t care less about the horrors they’ve unleashed", Aronoff argues.
Big picture:
The long-term global health impacts of toxic smoke pollution and ongoing fossil fuel use are significant. Air pollution from burning fossil fuels is responsible for one in five deaths worldwide, with approximately 10 million deaths per year attributed to air pollution. The smoke pollution caused by wildfires and exacerbated by rising temperatures and dry conditions poses a serious threat to public health, contributing to respiratory issues, cardiovascular problems, and other health complications.
Read the entire opinion piece at The Guardian.
For additional context about environmental health in general, check out What Is Environmental Heath?
