Gas Mask Future?

INSIRED BY: Bunky Echo Hawk’s Gas Mask Paintings 

http://bunkyechohawk.com/gas-mask-paintings/

In Pursuit Of Justice (2010) 11″ x 14″

Witness acrylic on canvas

Article Link:

http://earthzine.org/2012/08/18/study-shows-overall-air-quality-to-worsen-by-2050/

Another Cool Link:

http://www.space.com/27798-u-s-and-china-co2-litters-earth-s-atmosphere-one-year-timelapse.html

Pollution over China blows out to sea. Source: SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE.

Source: NASA, Robert Simmon and Jesse Allen, based on data provided by the NCAR MOPITT Team.

Highlights from the article

• The study used the Atmospheric Chemistry General Circulation Model, EMAC, to predict the impact of anthropogenic emission changes
• The model uses basic mathematical formulation to predict the meteorology and the 
• chemical composition of the atmosphere
• Researchers combined demographics and the pollutant concentration projections in the Population Weighted MPI (PW-MPI) to determine the effects on the average world citizen.
• “The model uses basic mathematical formulation to predict the meteorology and the chemical composition of the atmosphere,”
• “In practice, it is a software used to forecast – or hindcast, for past years – the status of the atmosphere at specific times.”
• The study determined that if the “business as usual” use of current technology for food and energy continues, then man-made air pollution will increase in the future.
• urban outdoor air pollution causes 1.3 million deaths per year
• The study found that high levels of pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and fine particulate matter such as PM2.5, will persist in East Asia in both 2025 and 2050
• We show that further legislation to control and reduce man-made emissions is needed, in particular for eastern China and northern India, to avoid hot-spots of elevated air pollution
• This research is the first-ever analysis piece of all man-made air pollutants harmful to human health, covering sulphur dioxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and PM2.5
• “Strong actions and further effective legislation are essential to avoid the drastic deterioration of air quality, which can have severe effects on human health,”

Article Summary

This article discussed the effects of the quality of air, and what the future holds if no effective legislation is established to “avoid the drastic deterioration of air quality, which can have severs effects on human health”. Researchers studied demographics and pollutant concentration projections using a basic mathematical formulation to predict the meteorology and chemical composition of the atmosphere, and determined that use of current technology for food and energy, “man-made air pollution will increase in the future”.

Posed Questions

If nothing is done to improve or lessen the effects of pollution in the air, and despite best efforts or legislations implemented, would the world suffer an “attack” from the atmosphere?

Do we have a gas mask future?