It’s Time for Parents to Step Up in the Fight for Clean Air

In 1981, less than a month after evidence of global warming was first reported front pagethis The New York Times interviews BF Skinner About the fate of mankind. The renowned psychologist recently suggested that a feature of the human mind actually dooms the world to environmental disaster. “Why aren’t we taking action to save our world?” Skinner asked, listing the myriad threats facing the planet.

His answer: Human behavior is determined almost entirely by our experience—specifically, by being rewarded or punished for past behavior. The future has not yet happened and will never have the same influence on our behavior; we will seek familiar rewards today—money, comfort, security, happiness, power—even if doing so threatens everyone on the planet tomorrow.

Skinner was one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century, but he is rarely praised for the prescience of his warning, which predicted the behavior of fossil fuel executives and politicians over the next four decades. I struggle with it often. I’m a pediatrician in Reno, Nevada. The fastest warming city in the United States. I look into the eyes of babies, children, and teenagers every day. Skinner believes that our choices will only change when the consequences of environmental damage shift from “tomorrow” to “today.” I believe that by 2025, the harm to children will become so obvious and immediate that parents – the sleeping giants in the climate fight – will wake up to what the fossil fuel industry is doing.

For example, over the past decade, my city has been shrouded in wildfire smoke from California for increasing amounts of time; 65 million Americans, Mainly in the West, we are now experiencing such a “smog crisis.” Everyone knows that smoke can cause respiratory problems; we all cough and wheeze when the air becomes noxious for weeks on end. Few people understand that children are at greater risk of these events for a number of reasons, mainly related to their different physiology, smaller body size and immature organs, as they are still developing and are very vulnerable to environmental harm. Children’s lungsFor example, it’s actually determined by the quality of the air they breathe. Children who chronically breathe particulate pollutants, such as those who live in the most polluted neighborhoods of Los Angeles, tend to develop smaller, stiffer lungs.

By 2025, the media will realize that the harm of these tiny pollutants is far more profound. That’s because a growing body of scientific research shows that small and ultrafine particles, often combined with toxic chemicals and heavy metals in wildfire smoke and exhaust, are causing brain damage in children. Worryingly, they appear to contribute to autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and increased likelihood of learning disabilities, behavioral problems, etc. Dementia.

Why? Because these tiny pollutants don’t stay in the lungs; they stay in the lungs. They invade the bloodstream and penetrate other organs, including the brain – which, like the lungs, is still growing and developing in children and is therefore more susceptible to damage.

Evidence for the effects of particles on the nervous system comes from brain imaging, histology and epidemiology. We know that even before birth, Pregnant women inhaling particulate matter Can cross the placenta and harm the fetus; MRI studies in multiple countries show changes in brain structure Among children who are prenatally exposed, many of them have cognitive and behavioral difficulties. After birth, particulate matter can also penetrate the prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain behind the forehead) when inhaled through the nose. As scientists study the brains of children and young adults mexico cityIn the United States, which is notorious for poor air quality, they found fossil fuel particles in the prefrontal cortex that were encased in Alzheimer’s-like plaques.

Evidence of a link between autism and ADHD has emerged from more than a decade of epidemiological studies around the world. in a years of research For example, a study of nearly 300,000 children in Southern California found that prenatal exposure to PM2.5, the smallest particulate matter legally defined, significantly increased the incidence of autism. A recent study exceeded 164,000 children in China Long-term exposure to fine particles was found to increase the chances of ADHD. Although autism and ADHD are complex conditions with multiple causes, including genetics and the environment, it is increasingly clear that air pollution from fossil fuels and exacerbations from climate change are a significant risk factor.