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Philippines in the Future: Combat to Rising Polluted Air Levels

THE UNIVERSE

In the year 2032, due to unregulated carbon-intensive technology, the Ozone Hole has
grown bigger as well as layers of Greenhouse Gases. One thick layer after another, this
air-polluted atmosphere not only prevented emission of radiation out of the Earth but it
also disintegrates the Natural Atmosphere of the Earth, greatly reducing the oxygen
supply of its inhabitants. However beneficial for plants with respect to carbon supply,
humans and animals try to adapt to the environment despite the strong lack of oxygen
supply or whatever health-friendly consumable may have been affected the natural way
of living on Earth. The sun, on the other hand, is still stable due to the fact that the sun
is not at the height of its activity in the 10-14-year cycle. If the expansion theory be
assumed in this prediction, the distance between the Earth, along with the other planets
in the solar system, have already increased farther from each other. But relative to the
Earth, too much Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), thus weakening the pull of gravity of the
Sun to the Earth.


THE PHILIPPINE SETTING

20 years from now, in the year 2032, air pollution has greatly worsened and presents a
huge threat to human health in the Philippines. The population living in the cities and
provinces has swelled by millions, making urban and rural air pollution a particularly
relevant issue for the country. The air quality of the country has a Total Suspended
Particulates (TSP) level of 250ug/Ncm, which is way afar from the annual air quality
value for TSP of 90ug/Ncm.

The Department of Health has warned of a higher incidence of non-communicable
diseases cause by the worsened air pollution. As most NCDs, such as acute respiratory
infections, allergies, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, cancer, and
cardiovascular diseases are attributable to air pollution. Filipinos have been greatly
asked by the Philippine government and the Department of Health to buy and wear
pollution masks outdoors as prevention from catching a disease because they trap a lot
of the oil and other pollutants. Other than that, is an asthma inhaler for those who have
the illness and for emergency purposes. A huge percentage of the mass have been
afraid to commute using jeepneys or tricycles as these are public transportations that
are open air and have switched to taxis and LRT/MRTs. This drastic change of
transportation preference have led to overcrowding of LRT/MRT stations and long lines
at taxi stations. This has happened for the reason that 65% of air pollution was found
out to be coming from vehicles, while 21% comes from stationary sources, such as
factories, tree cutting and waste burning.

The cases of NCDs have grown in the Philippines as hospitals have been receiving
patients almost everyday with illnesses that were caused by air pollution. The
prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is 36.5% among jeepney drivers,
and 24.8% among commuters. Numerous NCDs now belong to the top 10 leading
causes of mortality like pneumonia. The Philippines was experiencing an average of 70
deaths a day all over the country due to NCDs. About 65% of drugs purchased in
drugstores nationwide were treatment for respiratory diseases and household spending
on air pollution-related health expenses has increased by 70%.

Sources of air pollution in the Philippines has worsened due to emissions from three
sources: mobile vehicles, stationary such as power plants and factories, and area which
comes from garbage burning, road dust and open cooking. Burning of agricultural waste
in rural areas was also a cause to it. Moreover, the preservation and care for
environment also had an impact on air pollution. For the past decades, the Philippines is
among the countries with the highest rate of deforestation. A huge number of forests
lost at least 90% of their original habitat. Taking good care of the environment help
decrease air pollution.

Air pollution affects health in both short and long term. Short-term effects include
irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat, and infection on the upper respiratory tract such
as pneumonia and bronchitis. Other effects are headache, nausea, and allergic reaction.
Air pollution can also worsen asthma and emphysema conditions. Many air pollutants
a mix of gases, droplets, and particles are able to pass through the lungs into the
bloodstream and are eventually transported to the heart and the entire body through
blood vessels.

Increased levels of air pollution have been threatening the well being of the population,
and imposing not just a direct economic cost by affecting human health but also
threatening long-term productivity. Breathing can be a very dangerous business in 2032,
as the air that breathes you life is the same that can snuff life out of you.

Air pollution is a leading cause of death globally, triggering cancer, heart disease, and
acute respiratory illnesses, and common asthma. Technology and government
regulation play a major role in making the air safer. However, access to technology and
capacity to implement regulation are lowest in parts of the developing world where air
pollution is highest. That is why we present the Philippines solution to air pollution
below.


THE PHILIPPINES SOLUTION TO AIR POLLUTION

Researched and developed by a group of Filipino engineers and scientists as a last
attempt to combat the increasing toxicity levels of the air in the Philippines and even in
the rest of the world, the Artificially Replicated and Accelerated Photosynthesis Process
Chambers/Centers (ARAPPC) is a power plant-like structure that is essentially a large
tube that acts as a vacuum to suck in polluted air from the front end and released from
the other. Once the polluted air is sucked in and transferred to the inner chamber of the
structure, the air will undergo an accelerated photosynthesis process that will result in
the rapid cleansing and purifying of the air from its pollutants. Oxygen, the by-product of
this process, will then be released on the other end of the tube and the large amounts of
sucrose it produces will be used to produce ethanol, an alternative fuel.



After careful, painstaking prototyping and testing, the first ARAPPC was built and placed
in the center of Metro Manila. This first ARAPPC was able to purify the air in a radius
that covered the whole of Metro Manila. After this success, the government funded the
construction of many other ARAPPCs placed nationwide which eventually got rid of the
polluted air in the Philippines. The large amounts of ethanol that were produced from
the sucrose generated by the ARAPPCs led to a series of developments that made
ethanol a prime source of fuel in the country which effectively helped the environment
and atmosphere in the Philippines. With this great and history-making technology, the
Philippines was able to get support and trust from other powerful countries in exchange
for the ARAPPC technology.


AIR POLLUTION & GENETICS

Air pollution is known to be a cause of various diseases such as Asthma, Lung Cancer,
and a lot more. Asthma is a disease that is also genetically inherited (Partners Asthma
Center, 2010). Asthmas inheritance is affected by 5 Chromosome areas, namely
ADAM33, PHF11, DPP10, GRPA and SPINK5 (10-14) (WHO, n.d). Based on Mahdi et
al. (2010), Autosomal Recessive inheritance is the most common way of inheriting
Asthma genetically. The figure below shows a pedigree chart showing an Autosomal
Recessive inheritance for Asthma. Also notable from Mahdi et al.s (2010) study is that
having a parent who has Asthma can strongly predict that his/her offspring has Asthma
as well. The study also notes that at young ages Asthma can be seen more on male
children than female children with a 70:30 ratio, while its females have a higher ratio at
adult ages, having the ratio of 58:42.


Legend:
Blue Asthmatic
Green Carrier, Non-asthmatic

Figure 1. Sample Autosomal Recessive Inheritance of Asthma


Having pollution issues may cause one to get the disease. When one has Asthma, there
is a chance for him/her to pass it down his/her progeny in the future. Thus, the
worsening pollution in the country over time would definitely have caused an increase
on the count of people who have Asthma over the period of time skipped. This would
also hold true for other diseases where pollution has a direct impact on. The Physicians
for Social Responsibility (PSR) states that if Asthma goes untreated, having an episode
of it may have serious consequences (Physicians for Social Responsibility, 2009). This
would be an alarming concern for the country since medication is not affordable for a lot
of less fortunate citizens, not only for asthma, but for a lot of diseases. If left untreated,
sadly, there would be a higher death count for any disease caused by pollution.

Having the ARAPPC will help in eliminating pollution. This in a way would help reduce
the count of citizens who may contract diseases, which are caused by air pollution.
Having more people using it will have a greater impact on the count in the future.
Though it may not be an instant drop in the number of sick citizens, its effects will be
seen over time. For example, a family wherein Asthma is not a genetic trait is less likely
to contract it. Sadly this trait is not heavily affected by pollutants (COMEAP, 2010).
Pollution only plays a minor role in inducing Asthma to an individual who did not
genetically inherit the trait. But, nevertheless it does contribute to induction, thereby still
leading to a decrease in the count. Aside from reducing the tallies for diseases, it would
also reduce the risk of having attacks, which are triggered by the pollution. With more
strategically placed ARAPPCs, air pollution will be reduced but this does not mean that
people who already have diseases like Asthma will get cured of their respective
illnesses. However, with reduced pollution, Asthmatics are less likely to have attacks
triggered by inhaling polluted air (COMEAP, 2010). Say that a family wherein Asthma is
a one of the familys most common genetic inheritance, passed down from multiple
generations. Chances are with a lot of pollution; each member of that family, on an
average year gets an episode of Asthma about 3 times. Having less pollution would
help bring this down to a lower number, possibly even having 0 Asthma attacks for a
family member. Since these said episodes can be very fatal, the reduction of it can save
lives. This would also help in slowing the growth of Cancer cells in Cancer-stricken
individuals. Especially for Lung Cancer, having less pollution will help in slowing the
growth of the cells since the air taken in by an individual would be clean and free from
foreign particles which help the growth of the said cells. As for non-chronic diseases,
since the air is cleaner, the chance of getting colds will be lessened. According to
McDonough (2011), smokers and individuals who are exposed to air pollution are those
who are at risk of getting colds. With cleaner air, non-smokers would less likely be
getting colds, thus improving their quality of life since they would no longer need to get
this common sickness.







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