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

It was first reported in 1981, less than a month after evidence of global warming. first pagethe The New York Times asked BF Skinner About the fate of humanity. The famous psychologist recently argued that a feature of the human mind virtually guarantees global environmental catastrophe. “Why don’t we act to save our world?” Skinner asked, citing the myriad threats to the planet.

His answer: Human behavior is almost entirely governed by our experience—in particular, what actions have been rewarded or punished by in the past. The future, not yet happened, will never have the same effect on what we do; We will seek familiar rewards today—money, comfort, security, pleasure, power—even when doing so threatens the entire planet tomorrow.

Skinner was one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century, yet he rarely gets credit for the nuance of this warning, which predicted the behavior of fossil fuel executives and politicians for the next four decades. I have often wrestled with this. I am a pediatrician in Reno, Nevada Fastest warming city Every day I look into the eyes of babies, children and teenagers in the United States. Skinner argued that only when the consequences of environmental destruction shift from “tomorrow” to “today” will our preferences change. I believe that in 2025, the harms to children will become so obvious and immediate that parents—sleeping giants in the climate war—will wake up to what the fossil fuel industry has done.

Over the past decade, for example, my city has been darkened for long periods by smoke from wildfires in California; 65 million Americans, Much of the West, now experiences such a “smoking crisis”. Everyone understands that smoke causes respiratory problems; We all cough and wheeze when the air turns dangerous for a week. Fewer people understand that children are at greater risk from these events for multiple reasons, mostly related to their different anatomy, small size and immature organs – which, because they are still developing, are very vulnerable to environmental trauma. Children’s lungsFor example, they are literally shaped by the quality of the air they breathe. Children who chronically breathe in particulate pollution — such as those living in the most polluted areas of Los Angeles — have smaller, tighter lungs.

In 2025, the media will realize that the harms of these small pollutants are more profound. That’s because a growing body of science shows that fine and ultrafine particles, typically laced with toxic chemicals and heavy metals in wildfire smoke and exhaust, cause brain injuries in children. Worryingly, they appear to be contributing to the rise of autism as an epidemic and Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as learning disabilities, behavior problems and later increase odds Dementia.

Why? Because these tiny pollutants don’t stop at the lungs; They invade the bloodstream and enter other organs, including the brain – which, like the lungs, is still growing and developing in a baby and thus more susceptible to damage.

Evidence for the neurologic effects of particulate matter comes from brain imaging, histology, and epidemiology. We know before birth, Particles inhaled by pregnant women May cross the placenta and injure the fetus; MRI studies have shown that in several countries Altered brain architecture Among prenatally exposed children, many of whom struggled with cognition and behavior. After birth, particles can also enter the prefrontal cortex – the part of the brain behind the forehead – after breathing through the nose. When scientists study the brains of children and young adults Mexico CityNotorious for its bad air, they found fossil fuel particles, encased in Alzheimer’s-like plaques, embedded in the prefrontal cortex.

More than a decade of epidemiological studies around the world have found evidence of a link between autism and ADHD. A Many years of study Among nearly 300,000 children from Southern California, for example, prenatal exposure to PM2.5 (the smallest particulate matter regulated by law) was found to significantly increase the rate of autism. and a recent study on 164,000 children in China Long-term exposure to fine particles has been shown to increase the likelihood of ADHD. Although autism and ADHD are complex disorders with multiple causes, both genetic and environmental, it is increasingly clear that air pollution—caused by fossil fuels and worsened by climate change—is a significant risk factor.