Air Pollution In Beirut
People in Beirut could go extinct if nobody does anything against air pollution in this country. According to Alan Shehade, a professor at the American University of Beirut (AUB), air pollution can cause many diseases like heart attack, difficult breathing, lung cancer, Alzheimer, depression and affect mental health, learning abilities and IQ. Around 500000 people die yearly from diseases related to air pollution in the Eastern Mediterranean, an official from the World Health Organization (WHO) said and still, nobody does anything to solve this problem because people think that nothing can be done. According to Michele Citton, an AUB professor, it is a social and mental problem that affects people’s thinking in Lebanon regarding air pollution. It impacts health, tourism and most people are ignorant towards the problem.
Beirut is a very polluted city, a study from AUB and Saint Joseph University (USJ) in Beirut, in collaboration with the National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS), shows that the average concentration of nitrogen dioxide, a harmful air pollutant, was 58 micrograms per cubic meter of air. This average is over the recommended average (40 micrograms per cubic meter) from WHO. A study from the AUB shows that 93% of Beirut’s population is exposed to air pollution. This means that a lot of people in Beirut could get diseases or die. Air pollution in Lebanon doesn’t only affect people’s health but also economics because according to Jad Chaaban, a professor in Agriculture and Food Science at AUB, $16 million from lost work and $3.2 million in hospital visits are lost annually. This further reduces the quality of life for many people in Beirut.
In Beirut, people aren’t really conscious of this problem and that’s why many don’t really do anything about it and still do mistakes. First of all, there is no public transportation for people like the bus or the subway. This is because of Lebanon’s past civil war which destructed much of the country’s infrastructure and the problems Beirut has faced since, as Citton says. As stated before, it is a social problem. In addition, many of Beirut’s neighborhoods have bad pavements and streets where you really don’t feel comfortable walking or riding a bike. Thus many people prefer to take their. According to Samar Kadi, a Lebanese journalist, 500000 to 600000 private cars enter and exit Beirut on a daily basis – this is an addition to the cars in Beirut – with approximately 1.2 passengers per car only. The result is traffic congestion that leads to air pollution.
According to a report published by the United Nations, air pollution directly impacts tourism as it is causing the deterioration of nature in numerous touristic areas such as Byblos, which is suffering from the erosion of its archeological site because of acid rain. Acid rain is caused when acid gases rise into the sky and mix with the clouds, this causes the clouds to absorb the acid gas and when the clouds produce rain, it falls with a higher than normal level of acidity. Acid gasses are mainly caused by humans burning fossil fuels like coal and oils.
Despite all this, some people still believe that nothing can be done to improve the situation. Many people still use their cars without even thinking about it, they don’t care if it is a small distance or a big one, they don’t even take into consideration the possibility of sharing a car or walking. According to Samar Kadi quoted above, people spend an approximate 16% of day hours in traffic. Sadly many people are preoccupied with other problems and few people take initiative to make a change. But isn’t health the most important thing for a person, doesn’t everybody have the right to live a healthy life? How is that possible in a city like Beirut?
To conclude, Beirut is facing a major problem that is affecting everybody’s health and the economic situation of this small but densely populated city. Luckily there are solutions. People should not wait for a miracle to happen but should rather make a change themselves. There already are a few initiatives, such as “Lebanon Bike Sharing System – Bike 4 All,” a collaboration between Bike 4 All and the Municipality of Beirut. In addition there are a few tips from the Lebanese government written by Roula El Sheikh, a Holistic Life Coach and Energy Healer who has worked in a number of universities and in the Lebanese government: try using cars that economize fuel and are good for the environment, do not leave your car ON if you are waiting for someone or for whatever reason you might stop, try to recycle as much waste as you can and do not burn your waste because even if looks like it disappears, it only turns into a very dangerous substance that could harm your health. The first step to solving the problem of air pollution is raising awareness. Once people are aware of the severity of the problem, the damage it causes to their health and to the economy, they are more likely to assume responsibility and make a change.
Lebanon's problem 