Just look at how dirty the air is!

Look at this image of two air cleaners, one used in a school, and the other brand new. The dirty one has collected all the muck that otherwise would have been breathed in by a child in a classroom. It started off white. It’s scary, isn’t it? That could all be in your child’s lungs. (And in your own lungs, too, because we all breathe similar air every day.)

Humans need three basic things to survive: water to drink; food to eat; and air to breathe. There are standards for two of those that are readily accepted and expected, but there is no expectation for the quality of indoor air.

Studies have shown that long-term exposure to air pollution reduces life expectancy. Short-term exposure (over hours or days) to elevated levels of air pollution can also cause a range of health impacts, including effects on lung function, exacerbation of asthma, increases in respiratory and cardiovascular hospital admissions and mortality.

We drink two litres of water and breathe in 11,000 litres of air every day. We wouldn’t dream of drinking dirty water, so why are we so happy breathing in dirty air?