Pollution Causes 40 Percent Of Deaths Worldwide
Pastor Dale Morgan
Pollution Causes 40 Percent Of Deaths Worldwide*
Air pollution from smoke and various chemicals kills 3 million people a
year. In the United States alone about 3 million tons of toxic chemicals
are released into the environment -- contributing to cancer, birth
defects, immune system defects and many other serious health problems.
Ithaca, NY (SPX) Sep 21, 2007
About 40 percent of deaths worldwide are caused by water, air and soil
pollution, concludes a Cornell researcher. Such environmental
degradation, coupled with the growth in world population, are major
causes behind the rapid increase in human diseases, which the World
Health Organization has recently reported. Both factors contribute to
the malnourishment and disease susceptibility of 3.7 billion people, he
says.
David Pimentel, Cornell professor of ecology and agricultural sciences,
and a team of Cornell graduate students examined data from more than 120
published papers on the effects of population growth, malnutrition and
various kinds of environmental degradation on human diseases.
"We have serious environmental resource problems of water, land and
energy, and these are now coming to bear on food production,
malnutrition and the incidence of diseases," said Pimentel.
Of the world population of about 6.5 billion, 57 percent is
malnourished, compared with 20 percent of a world population of 2.5
billion in 1950, said Pimentel. Malnutrition is not only the direct
cause of 6 million children's deaths each year but also makes millions
of people much more susceptible to such killers as acute respiratory
infections, malaria and a host of other life-threatening diseases,
according to the research.
Among the study's other main points:
" Nearly half the world's people are crowded into urban areas, often
without adequate sanitation, and are exposed to epidemics of such
diseases as measles and flu.
" With 1.2 billion people lacking clean water, waterborne infections
account for 80 percent of all infectious diseases. Increased water
pollution creates breeding grounds for malaria-carrying mosquitoes,
killing 1.2 million to 2.7 million people a year, and air pollution
kills about 3 million people a year. Unsanitary living conditions
account for more than 5 million deaths each year, of which more than
half are children.
" Air pollution from smoke and various chemicals kills 3 million people
a year. In the United States alone about 3 million tons of toxic
chemicals are released into the environment -- contributing to cancer,
birth defects, immune system defects and many other serious health problems.
" Soil is contaminated by many chemicals and pathogens, which are passed
on to humans through direct contact or via food and water. Increased
soil erosion worldwide not only results in more soil being blown but
spreading of disease microbes and various toxins.
At the same time, more microbes are becoming increasingly
drug-resistant. And global warming, together with changes in biological
diversity, influence parasite evolution and the ability of exotic
species to invade new areas. As a result, such diseases as tuberculosis
and influenza are re-emerging as major threats, while new threats --
including West Nile virus and Lyme disease -- have developed.
"A growing number of people lack basic needs, like pure water and ample
food. They become more susceptible to diseases driven by malnourishment,
and air, water and soil pollutants," Pimentel concludes. He and his
co-authors call for comprehensive and fair population policies and more
conservation of environmental resources that support human life.
"Relying on increasing diseases and malnutrition to limit human numbers
in the world diminishes the quality of life for all humans and is a
high-risk policy," the researchers conclude.
The report is published in the online version of the journal Human
Ecology in the December print issue.