Save your breath!

Beijing, China

Breathe in.....breathe out (I think not!) In the past few months, the most concerning environmental issues have included smog and pollution in China and New Delhi. Social media has heightened and raised awareness to these issues that at times are disturbing, yet our reality. Even the Washington Post made a remark that Beijing is "the world’s pollution poster child." (Article) 

Is this what you want to be breathing in? (Absolutely not!)

According to the California DMV, smog checks are required for most vehicles that are older than six years every other registration process; but in New Delhi's  case "1,400 poorly regulated new cars are added to its roads every day." (Article) I believe this is one of the key issues that many growing countries encounter because of the lack of law enforcement. Even though China has made progress regarding pollution, the real problem they should be focusing on are the underlying oxidizing agents of hydrogen peroxide, ozone, PAN, and nitric acid that create the smog. Also, it is great that China has acknowledged their duty to citizens to report air quality and particulate matter, which is a step into the right direction for China and the other countries, but their is still a long road ahead to clean air.
Oftentimes, people find themselves performing task or making decisions as an automatic response. For instance, if you have a usual sandwich order, have you ever asked yourself why you like it or ponder about what the ingredients are actually made out of? Obviously, the answer for most would be no because if we like something, we eat it! You never want to be the overly concerning friend at the dinner table that makes comments about your food and then you lose your appetite. Yet, this is exactly what all of the citizens of each country should do to try to improve environmental issues.  Ask, Ask, Ask questions and raise concerns! So, what will you do...