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global briefs Deathly Air
Pollution More Deadly Than Cigarettes Toxic air is killing more people in Europe than tobacco smoking, according to new research published in the European Heart Journal. The number of early deaths caused by air pollution is double previous estimates and the lives of 800,000 people worldwide are cut short by an average of more than two years, the scientists calculated. Although air pollution enters through the lungs, its impact via the bloodstream on heart disease and strokes is responsible for twice as many deaths as respiratory diseases. Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, says, “Toxic air doesn’t just cut lives short. It also seriously affects the health and quality of life of millions of people.”
Breathing Risk Pollution Rises Across the U.S.
In the U.S., air pollution in general worsened markedly across the country between 2015 and 2017, probably due to rising temperatures, according to the American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2019 report. Based on federal, state and local data, it found that that many cities nationwide increased the number of days when particle pollution, often called “soot”, soared
to record-breaking levels. More cities suffered from higher numbers of days when ground-level ozone, also known as “smog”, reached unhealthy levels. The report’s three-year span covered the hottest years on record globally, and as the report noted, the data “adds to the evidence that a changing climate is making it harder to protect human health.” Case in point: The top six cities or metro areas in ozone pollution—Los Angeles-Long Beach, Visalia, Bakersfield, Fresno-Madera- Hanford, Sacramento-Roseville and San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad—were all located in California, one of the most environmentally proactive states.
See a map of the 25 worst offenders by ozone, year-round
particle pollution and short-term particle pollution and check out other locations by zip code at
Tinyurl.com/MostPollutedCities.
Cetacean Liberation
Brainy Beasts
Elephants Never Forget—What They Smell
According to a new report from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, elephants have such sensitive olfactory discrimination that they can determine different amounts of food just by sniffing it. Most animals use visual acuity to determine quantities of food, but this study shows that it’s important for psychologists to incorporate into experimental designs the ways in which different animals interact with their environment using all of their senses.
14 Central Florida
Canada Bans Captive Sea Mammals Canada’s Parliament recently passed legislation banning the practice of breeding and keeping whales, dolphins and porpoises in captivity. Violations are punishable by fines of up to $150,000. While celebrated by animal rights activists, the bill doesn’t free marine mammals currently in captivity, those being rescued and rehabilitated, or those being kept for the purposes of licensed scientific research. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the measure would especially impact Marineland, the Niagara Falls, Ontario, amusement park and zoo that has 55 beluga whales, five bottlenose dolphins and one orca, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Marineland said it will comply with the legislation.
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