Highest Degrees of Pissivity and Dilemmas on Being Human

True story: Whilst living in the West Midlands, UK many years ago, a usual ‘fit and healthy me’ checked into the Emergency Department twice within a week…some of the scariest moments of my life.

Doctors examined me and then ran all the standard tests. They came back completely normal and I was discharged. Little did I know that subtropical privilege had blinded me. Growing up in an ‘island life environment’ obscures one to existence outside its bubble. Call it a kind of 'Bubble Utopia.'

Boy, talk about as unprepared as you can get!

The occurrence that initially went over my head has me now conducting regular point checks like a science detective. I assess the AQI regularly. I’ll explain…

My Lesson

Only days later did I understand this to be the root cause of acute symptoms that left me unable to move more than a few steps outside the house without feeling disoriented, struggling to breathe/talk, and on the verge of collapse. At some point (before becoming unwell) I’d heard a weather report about the dust from the Sahara Desert mixing with the smog off of the European continent and settling over portions of my jurisdiction. A barely thin mist was visible outside that week, but out went me with my clueless subtropical privilege and I got lung-sucker punched. Now I know the signs to look out for and will check the Air Quality Index (AQI) because Sahara dust, or no, air pollution is a hazard of epic proportions.

According to an October 25, 2023, article by University College London (UCL), it is estimated that 48,625 adults die prematurely every year in the UK due to “particulate matter pollution” (pollutant particles in the air that deposit inside airways—in other words, you breathe that shit in.)

If I had peeked at the stats for children, I would be unable to type this story, but I did see BBC coverage on the topic and witnessed some of the frontline fallout in hospitals.

A Wake-up Call

The temperature reading on my phone provides a breakdown of AQI components plus an AccuWeather map. On a whim, not long ago, I panned

out past UK borders and what I saw of the air quality on just the tip of North Africa made me retch. Routinely, the worst AQI levels imaginable compared to many European countries.

I’m glad that I have trusted friends.

I addressed my grief-soaked horror mingled with righteous indignation to one of them. The one who had traveled through some affected countries in Africa. They stated something along the lines of “Substandard fuels are sold at lower cost to those countries…I did notice an overpowering acrid odor in a few major cities I visited.”

Add to that, biomass fuels that people without electricity routinely use for cooking, as well as landfill gases and industrial contributions add to poor air quality.

I felt sick.

The length of time this had been a factor I knew nothing about.

And upon the realization that some major jurisdictions have been complicit/explicit in trade exports to some African countries…

Fuck. How deep does this go?

It takes one to the place we’ve known about all along. Where the almighty dollar/euro/pound, etc., trumps everything with some people. At this juncture, I will call those people out for what they are. Assholes.

What happened today...

When I woke up this morning expecting to go outside, an AQI 54 reading halted my trajectory. It’s unsafe. By legal definition, capitalist greed may not have incarcerated me, but I am stuck in my house until the air is less hazardous, whenever that will be.

At a minimum, I can choose not to go outside. Imagine those in locations where daily income means the survival of your family.

Go outside: Eventual debilitating/protracted death.

Don’t go outside: Watch your family slowly die in a time-lapse sequence.

What kind of options are those???

What's been happening every day...

The state of air quality is directly attributable to manmade factors. There are human beings who prioritize monetary profit over breathable air.

Let that sink in for a minute.

There are people who will not differentiate between the levels of suffering due to the future negative health outcomes for your grandparents or grandchildren. For the love of your life or the newborn baby who carries the potential to bring a cure for diabetes or lead us toward world peace.

They. Don’t. Care.

Note: Pretty platform agendas + government fact-finding missions + global summits + senior advisory panels + emergency meetings + etc., etc. over numerous decades, = no substantial long-lasting positive change in air quality.

Call to action

This requires a decidedly different alteration in tactics for resolution.

We ARE the playing field. Let’s individually and collectively change the parameters and stop this disgusting game:

• Check and recheck the air quality in your location, region, or continent. Make a big, fat, hairy, noisy deal about it. Tell others. Add visuals.
• Let’s drastically decrease the consumption of everything within reason. Decreased consumption cuts into profits.
• Build an aware community wherever you are. We are stronger together and cannot do this without each other. Consolidate. Carpool. Cooperative coexistence.
• Research alternative energy sources and share your findings. Necessity is the mother of invention. Leave room for YOU to create/discover a few energy sources.
• Add to this list and start your own. Share.

If you were to strangle someone, depriving them of air until dead, that would be considered first-degree murder. We live in a scenario where this is happening on an insidious, silent global scale. Our children. Our loved ones. Are we going to permit those in positions of authority to continue to do this?

We are being deprived of breathable air. Of course, I’m pissed off about it! But a more important question is, what are you and I gonna DO about it?

*Inserts a huge suggestion box*

It's a dire issue to write about—something entirely within the power of humanity to do something for resolution. Because what are we going to do if we can't simply breathe the air? How did we allow life to get this ridiculous? HOW???

Please leave comments, suggestions, questions, solutions, emotions, and hope below.