Air Pollution

The first time I realized that something was amiss was in Grenoble. It would become hard to breathe, and I would frequently cough this wheezy, tired cough. My host family took me up into the mountains, and when I looked down upon Grenoble, I gasped. A huge haze, human-made haze, covered the city. In the mountains, I felt as though new life had been breathed into me and my coughs were gone. Once I returned back to Grenoble, it came back. Rainy days were better.

Here in Osaka, I get headaches more often, the wheezy, weak cough has returned; and often my chest is heavy. Last weekend I had gone to an onsen (hot springs) up in the mountains of Wakayama Prefecture, and again I was free to breathe. 

Living in Alaska, I'm not so sure many people know what it is like to experience true air pollution that greatly damages the air we breathe. Although, the main problem regarding air pollution (oh, does everyone absolutely hate this, I do too ... but facts are facts) is wood smoke. Wood smoke is actually a very bad carcinogenic and when you burn wood, even if you like its woody smell, you are poisoning yourself almost as much as a cigarette would. http://www.familiesforcleanair.org/health/health4/. If that isn't sufficient enough information for you, then you are free to go do your own research and come back to me with a ten-page paper with your findings if you'd like. I would most definitely read it (no sarcasm). 

I am not sure if wood smoke pollution is as dangerous as the pollution that major cities expel, but either way ... I can feel the affects much greater here in Osaka and when I was in Grenoble than I ever had when I was in Alaska. 

My main question is: how can humans live like this? How many go, day by day, breathing in this poison without ever wondering or knowing what damage their body is taking? How can the people who are aware of this not educate others? And why do some people plug their ears and ignore what is happening? There is nothing to deny. People die daily from air pollution. It could be you, it could be me. So why is this acceptable? This is not something that only effects one person, it effects everyone who lives in the area, and all major cities have this problem. I generally have this belief that people should be allowed to do whatever they want, as long as it doesn't effect others. Pollution does.

As I said in my previous blog, environment is the most important thing to me. I come from a very nature-based land. Alaska is wilderness. It is environment and nature. When I see litter, it infuriates me. How could you throw your plastics and your garbage onto this beautiful land? Why is it so difficult to carry it to a garbage can? And if that garbage can is full, why can you not find another one? People here in Japan like to brag about how "clean" it is here, but I see nothing but pollution infiltrating my lungs and people seem to lack the ability to throw things away worse here than in Alaska (not as bad as Grenoble though). 

My wonder is how people can be more worried about societal constructs such as government and money and things that only exist because humans said so over the environment. Something that is real no matter what. If the government falls, there will be many people who suffer. If money were to be abolished, some people may suffer. But if the environment falls ... everything will suffer.  Our societal constructs will no longer matter at that point. It won't matter who is president, which party is "destroying" the U.S. (as it seems both sides think the other is destroying it - they are both right), who is the bigger 'meanie', who believes in what ... none of that will matter. But who will have the last laugh? 

And that is my post for today.

Until next time~