Air and Your Health

Hardly a day passes without a new headline about the effects of global warming, species loss, and other distressing environmental news. Some experts caution that we have only one generation of time to reverse conditions in our polluted environment, or we shall experience irreversible damage. Many people feel that the problems are on such a vast scale, are so complex and overwhelming, that individual efforts are futile. They are wrong. In Air and Your Health, eminent health writer and environmentalist Beatrice Trum Hunter discusses air-a natural resource that is vital to life. Are you inhaling volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can irritate or damage your lungs, as well as harm the rest of your body? What is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease? Why is secondhand smoke harmful? How does the dramatic rise in asthma relate to our air pollution? What can you do to maintain clean air in your home and workplace? Hunter responds to the mounting air-quality crisis with practical measures that begin in the personal environment.