Ellen White often wrote of the benefits of fresh air, and the problems posed by air pollution: “In the preparation for the home, our children must be kept in physical health. They must be placed where they can breathe pure air”…”Think of how much better it is for those who are sick to breathe the pure air of heaven than to breather air contaminated by chimney smoke.” [17LtMs, Ms 89, 1902]. “From the standpoint of health the smoke and dust of the cities are very objectionable” [7T 82.1]; “(In cities…) the air, laden with smoke and dust, with poisonous gasses… is a peril to life” [MH 262.1].
In the 1800’s and early 1900’s, people had very little understanding of the dangers air pollution posed to health. And even in the 1940’s, when smog first appeared in Los Angeles due to the proliferation of automobiles and the exhaust fumes they produced, people thought the smog was the by-product of a nearby rubber factory. Not until the 1950’s were Americans able to understand that air pollution and smog were dangerously toxic, even lethal.
Today we know that air pollution is a major cause of death and disease, killing millions of people every year by causing respiratory diseases like COPD and lung cancer, stroke, and cardiac diseases. Each year 4.2 million people die from outdoor air pollution and 3.8 million die from indoor pollutants created from burning wood and charcoal indoors to heat their homes and cook their food. Particle pollution is the trigger for these illnesses, and it causes nearly a third of all lung cancer deaths even in people who have never smoked.
Clean, fresh air reduces inflammation throughout the body, boosts your mood, improves digestion, relaxes you, and reduces risks for heart and lung diseases and cancers. If you’re a city dweller, find fresh air by visiting your local parks and gardens, share your home or yard with live plants and trees because they help to clean the air, and try to get outdoors when the air quality rating is better- after rain showers, earlier in the morning before the traffic has built up, on weekends when there are fewer commuters.