Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Improving Air Quality
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34
Looking around the world, there are significant differences in recent trends
regarding urban air quality. In many large cities in South Asia (in India,
Pakistan, and Bangladesh), air quality has been declining because of increased
traffic and growth of the cities. Air quality in China has received attention
recently, and efforts to improve air quality have shown some progress. Part
of these efforts to improve air quality in China has been a significant push
to electrify transportation. In some African countries such as Nigeria, PM2.5
concentrations in urban air are increasing. In some parts of Europe and the
United States, there is a continuing effort to improve air quality, which is
having good results (HEI, 2018; Erickson et al., 2017). Finally, the importance of air pollution control is being increasingly recognized in India, and
there are current efforts to improve the National Clean Air Programme there
(NCAP, 2018).
3.6 Public Education
Few people are totally indifferent to air quality, but there is a substantial
gap between the perceptions that many people have (e.g. that poor air
quality is merely an annoyance) and the reality. The reality, as reviewed in
this chapter, is that poor air quality is a serious, pervasive, and extensive
health risk that costs trillions of dollars annually in lost lives and productivity. Urban air quality, in particular, is an issue that has the biggest impact
on the largest number of people. There are some great current efforts to educate people about the importance of air quality and its impact on health, but
additional public education is recommended because of how important this
issue is for health and for quality of life. Public information and education
is needed with respect to the current values of variables such as PM2.5, the
effects of air pollution on health, the methods and actions that reduce pollutant concentrations in the atmosphere, the actions individuals can take to
reduce their exposure to air pollutants, and the actions communities can take
to improve air quality.
In many communities, these greater efforts to inform citizens of the
current air quality conditions would be beneficial and would not need to be
complicated or difficult. Making the local AQI values easily available, such
as on the Internet and electronic bulletin boards, would be valuable to people
overall. It would be invaluable information for those at risk of, or already
dealing with, asthma and other relevant health concerns. There are now lowcost monitors that can be used to measure concentrations of PM2.5, NO 2 ,
O 3 , and other air pollutants to inform citizens of those concentration levels
at busy intersections. Alongside these postings of air quality conditions, of
course, there should be basic information about how to interpret the data,
which would be useful as a public education lever. As citizens are better
34
34
Looking around the world, there are significant differences in recent trends
regarding urban air quality. In many large cities in South Asia (in India,
Pakistan, and Bangladesh), air quality has been declining because of increased
traffic and growth of the cities. Air quality in China has received attention
recently, and efforts to improve air quality have shown some progress. Part
of these efforts to improve air quality in China has been a significant push
to electrify transportation. In some African countries such as Nigeria, PM2.5
concentrations in urban air are increasing. In some parts of Europe and the
United States, there is a continuing effort to improve air quality, which is
having good results (HEI, 2018; Erickson et al., 2017). Finally, the importance of air pollution control is being increasingly recognized in India, and
there are current efforts to improve the National Clean Air Programme there
(NCAP, 2018).
3.6 Public Education
Few people are totally indifferent to air quality, but there is a substantial
gap between the perceptions that many people have (e.g. that poor air
quality is merely an annoyance) and the reality. The reality, as reviewed in
this chapter, is that poor air quality is a serious, pervasive, and extensive
health risk that costs trillions of dollars annually in lost lives and productivity. Urban air quality, in particular, is an issue that has the biggest impact
on the largest number of people. There are some great current efforts to educate people about the importance of air quality and its impact on health, but
additional public education is recommended because of how important this
issue is for health and for quality of life. Public information and education
is needed with respect to the current values of variables such as PM2.5, the
effects of air pollution on health, the methods and actions that reduce pollutant concentrations in the atmosphere, the actions individuals can take to
reduce their exposure to air pollutants, and the actions communities can take
to improve air quality.
In many communities, these greater efforts to inform citizens of the
current air quality conditions would be beneficial and would not need to be
complicated or difficult. Making the local AQI values easily available, such
as on the Internet and electronic bulletin boards, would be valuable to people
overall. It would be invaluable information for those at risk of, or already
dealing with, asthma and other relevant health concerns. There are now lowcost monitors that can be used to measure concentrations of PM2.5, NO 2 ,
O 3 , and other air pollutants to inform citizens of those concentration levels
at busy intersections. Alongside these postings of air quality conditions, of
course, there should be basic information about how to interpret the data,
which would be useful as a public education lever. As citizens are better