How Humanity Became Immune to Breathing Plastics and Toxins

Somtochukwu Okwuoha (Nigeria)
Honorable Mentions

Air is unquestionably the most fundamental essentials of man. As the saying goes, man can live forty days without food, three days without water, but only eight minutes without air. Imagine the world to be instantly cut off from the supply of air. It would surely cause an instant annihilation of humanity and other living organisms on this planet. Man is too blessed to have access to free air for him to breath. He does not have to pay for it and even work hard to gain it. He does not even have to save some of it to be used for later purposes. It is there. It is free. It is limitless and accessible.

Air used to be pure and uncontaminated. Science has taught us that air is composed of seventy-eight percent of nitrogen, twenty-one percent of oxygen, and one percent of other components.  There is a long list that composed the one percent that includes Argon, Carbon Dioxide, Helium, Hydrogen, Methane, Xenon, Ozone, Nitrogen Dioxide, Iodine, Carbon Monoxide, Neon, Iodine, and Ammonia (Eskinazi 37). These other substances should naturally exist in trace amounts. Otherwise, if they would exceed their natural percentage, they become a nuisance and called an air pollutant. They contaminate the air and disturb the normal air cycles.

But what has happened to the air composition today? It is now heavily contaminated with toxins and chemical particles swarming in the air. Humans are now breathing traces of plastics, toxins, cigarette smoke, carbon monoxide and other air pollutants (Nunez). The world’s priority towards industrialization and modernization has compromised the air quality, honing humanity to be immune to the particulates of the air. Several cities and metropolis all over the world are competing to get a place in the World’s Most Polluted Cities. Although air pollutants cannot be seen doesn’t mean they are not there. In fact, their presence has a tremendous impact on humanity causing environmental changes and adverse health effects. The increasing mortality rate due to respiratory-related diseases and continuous decrease of the flora and fauna are sufficient proofs of the consequences of air pollution.

Air pollution is anthropogenic. The continuous actions of man to burn fossil fuel, the increase of vehicles, the manufacture of chemicals releasing toxins into the air, and the negative practices of man has led the world to become a storage of dust, smoke, plastics, and toxins. It is undeniable that man is now breathing plastics and toxins from the air. Has man been used to taking in specks of dust and bad air? Is there a choice for them but to breathe what is in the air?  But who is to blame for this phenomenon? Is it the children who have been forced to acclimate with the environment? Or the unborn children in the womb of their mothers who would never know the difference of fresh air from polluted one? Or is it the elderly or the sick, who have been suffering enough of this rotten planet?

The blame game will not do any good for this planet today. Now that the people are breathing in plastics and toxins in the air cannot charge the people behind the manufacturers, power plants, and industries that for generations have provided them jobs. The damage on the planet already has a long history to be traced to find the culprit behind these things. All of us are perpetrators of this planet. We all have our share of the destruction of this world. The air we breathed in is free, but we abused what has been given to us. Now, the air is taking back its toll as a consequence of the long years of humanity’s bad choices and habits.

But how does this involved everyone? Simply, it is the manner of taking dominion to what has been given to us for free. Whether we are active or passive contributors to air pollution, we all have responsibilities to make this world a better place. We can help by participating in massive actions that can move policies and push the government to create programs for air quality improvement. We can join forces to call out major corporations to shift to renewable energy sources and stop their reliance on fossil fuels and coals. If we all turn our bad habits into good ones, we can significantly contribute a tremendous impact. We can do this through simple ways such as carpooling, using energy saving devices, going organic in farming, using renewable energy sources such as solar panels, recycling, and many more. Even the choice to quit smoking can reduce indoor pollution (GreenTumble).

The process of beating air pollution requires global participation. It cannot be done by just one nation, one country or one tribe. Instead, it requires international collaboration and intensive actions that can significantly reduce the carbon footprint. All the people on this planet can share in this battle by being informed, sharing this information to the rest of the people, and commit to shifting their bad habits into good habits. Man should no longer be contented with breathing plastics and toxins in the air. Everyone should do something to make the air clean and safe. Every little action can cause miracles especially if everyone is involved. If all the people would change their ways and contribute to the changes in their every society, then it would surely cause significant changes to the world. The healing of this planet is, after all, everyone’s concern.