Excellent Health and a Healthy Environment - Assignment Example

It is the responsibility of every citizen to ensure they get quality air both indoors and outdoors. It is also the responsibility of the local health departments to maintain and implement global standards. This will ensure that objectives of air quality are achieved, and public health is protected. The programs should ensure proper ventilation systems at home, school, and public amenities. Poor ventilation can cause Asthma in children most people believe this disease might be caused by old buildings, farms, and animal odors. The health department together with the community should unite to address and prevents these issues (Chard & O'Brien, 2003).

We risk getting illnesses including cancer diseases and premature death when we expose ourselves to poor air quality. There have been efforts to minimize harmful air pollutants. Most air pollutants are particulate matter, organic chemicals, environmental tobacco, carbon monoxide, and biological agents such as fungi (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2012).

Transportation
Transportation has led to pollution of the environment for centuries. The transportation pollutants are particulate matter, ozone, carbon monoxide, and gasoline. These pollutants cause serious health risks such as cancer and reproductive problems also known as birth defects. Air pollutants also cause ecological and environmental effects that lead to global warming. Top researchers say that small particles cause more harm than large particles. Most Governments in different countries are playing a key role in preventing air pollution caused by transportation. There has been the discovery of eco-friendly gasoline and diesel after-treatment exhausts. There is long-term solution such as hydrogen fuel cells and other synthetic fuels (Gorham, 2002).

The ships traveling in the seas near Europe are believed to have released most Sulphur and Nitrogen Oxide emissions to the environment. The emissions rate is expected to rise to around 50% by 2020. This pollution can be managed and controlled though it is expensive. The introduction of cleaner fuels and the adoption of other energy sources such as electricity and wind power could assist in minimizing pollution. It has been noted that emissions from the ship are increasing at an alarming rate. Emissions from the land are decreasing, and by 2020, we will have zero percent land-based pollution. A few technological guidelines have been put in place to minimize global shipping pollution. The first solution is the modification of internal engines to minimize the production of nitrogen oxide. This will be accomplished by the use of water injection and recirculation of exhaust gas. The second solution is the treatment of exhaust gas before being released into the environment by the use of selective catalytic reduction (SCR). The third solution is the use of liquefied natural gas that does not produce or have Sulphur.
Use of alternative sources of energy such as biofuels, wind power, fuels cells, and solar power (European Federation for Transport and Environment AISBL, 2011)

Respiratory diseases
The healthy people 2020 focus is to support and encourage respiratory health by ensuring proper treatment, prevention, education, and early detection. The main respiratory diseases are a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. One can easily detect asthma when one experiences symptoms such as breath shortness, coughing, wheezing, and tightness of the chest. Other respiratory diseases include lung cancer, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and AIDS.
The topics that need to be addressed to improve respiratory health care are; air quality, knowledge about asthma, respiratory diseases awareness, availability of treatment, and climate change awareness. Since 1980, Asthma awareness has increased, and they have been a decrease in deaths related to Asthma (Respiratory Diseases, 2012). Read More