Everyone loves a good TED Talk!
Air pollution causes 7 million premature deaths per year. Is anyone declaring a global emergency? Unfortunately, no. In this TED Talk, Maria Neira, public health expert at the World Health Organisation explains how the pollutants we breathe in through our lungs, cross the blood barrier and enter our brains. In infants and children, breathing in contaminated air affects neural development, cognitive abilities, and leads to behavior disorders like ADHD and autism. In adults, contaminated air increases the risk for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and possibly dementia. How many lives, loss of quality of life and losing our brain power are we going to accept? If the answer is none, Maria Neira says we must put pressure on politicians to reduce air pollution now.