Categories: Lifestyle

Guest Blogger: Green Living: Avoiding Asbestos

Guest Blogger Bill Hawthorne is representing maacenter.org, a leading web resource for asbestos exposure and mesothelioma cancer information, dedicated to raising awareness of terrible health consequences of asbestos exposure.  How buildings are created – using sustainable green products – are crucial in avoiding asbestos and mesothelioma as well as improving existing structures.  Enjoy!

Going green used to be considered expensive and a luxury for those who could afford the trend. Now it appears that we are learning that not only is adopting more environmentally-conscious attitudes good for our wallets, but is also important to our health? If we dig a bit deeper, we can see that dirty industries and backwards policy is actually harming the health of the earth, our children and the health of her inhabitants today.

There are two levels of health consequences associated with dirty industry, both direct and indirect. The direct consequences are examples like increased asthma rates in areas with high smog. Chlorofluorocarbon release into the atmosphere has shown to decrease the filter of direct sunlight on the planet, resulting in more concentrated ultraviolet light reaching the surface of the earth. Perhaps with no surprise, in countries with depleted atmospheric gas, skin cancer rates are among the highest in the world.

Most mesothelioma doctors would say the indirect health consequences are harder to see immediately, but closer examination reveals that these are the most hazardous. Bi-products of industries such as coal and oil processing, include cancer causing substances like asbestos and benzene. A U.K. study conducted in 2002 indicated that coal and oil industry workers are at a much higher risk of developing mesothelioma cancer and leukemia.

Can we really afford to continue on the path we were on before? Investment in clean industry means not a healthier planet for our children and grandchildren, but also a healthier place for us to live today.

Posted by James O’ Shea, maacenter

GPB: Readers, thoughts? What can we do to make an impact to reduce toxins in our environment?

Guest Writer

Recent Posts

Moving Fast and Breaking Climate goals: What Pennsylvania’s Data Center boom means for local communities

$90 billion in investments could reshape the energy landscape, but community voices and renewable alternatives…

2 days ago

Trash competition, government shutdown, November elections, & more

Catch up on the latest sustainability news:  Block by Block launches citywide cleanup competition with…

2 days ago

From coal to solar affordability: PA’s next energy chapter shaped by HB 504

Farmers and city residents alike stand to benefit from local, homegrown power, says Land &…

3 days ago

Celebrating Solar at “Sun Day,” trash burning ban proposed & more

Catch up on the latest sustainability news:  Philly mobilizes for Sun Day solar energy celebration.…

1 week ago

You can be exposed to PFAS through food, water, even swimming in lakes – new maps show how risk from ‘forever chemicals’ varies

Drinking water isn’t the only way people are exposed to PFAS today. This article is…

1 week ago

Building connections: How Ash Richards uses land care as cultural preservation

The city’s Director of Urban Agriculture talks about the impact of history, gardening as collective…

2 weeks ago