Clear air for long life

November 22, 2022
Photo by Wonderlane on Unsplash

When we are agitated, they say: “Take a deep Breath”.  

But what if we are agitated due to the very fact that deep breathing may do us harm?

Each resident of the Western Balkans every day makes 22 thousand inhales of the air which, especially during the winter months, is among the most polluted in Europe. Even though some efforts have been made to improve the quality of air, to see the gasmask icon on an air quality monitoring app still represents a daily occurrence!

The sources of air pollution are numerous – from the industry which uses fossil fuels, burning stubble and garbage in landfills, right down to heavy traffic. When we add home furnaces to the equation, we get to the point where half of us breathe highly polluted air. The greatest threat comes from so-called suspended particles of ground-level ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, methane, mercury and soot.

The Green Deal comes to our aid! The European Commission presented it as a series of solutions for the problems of climate changes and living environment pollution. The part of the Green Deal that refers to our region is called Green Agenda. Step by step, the Green Agenda proposes concrete measures that would enable us to continue with having heating, producing, eating and finally, breathing normally, without polluting water, air, or soil.

 

WHAT IS THE PLAN?

A systemic change on the level of our entire country, and especially in local communities, will start once we reduce the consumption of fossil fuels to the minimum and turn to the economy based on the respect of nature and its principle of circulation without waste, i.e. circular economy. Also, we need to measure the quality of air more precisely, to better plan the measures for the reduction of pollution and consistently implement rules and regulations.

Clean air also requires innovative solutions that would help us implementing all this in practice! Some of them are already there. For example, mobile apps to report burning stubble and illegal landfills, or microalgae air purifiers which “gather” the polluting particles from the environment, where there is a deficit of trees.

WHAT CAN I DO?

REDUCE YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO POLLUTION!

  • If you can, connect to a remote heating system.  
  • Thermally isolate your living space effectively, so that you won’t heat the yard, or the street.
  • Clean the chimney before and after the heating season.
  • Use briquettes made of wood or other types of biomass for heating.

PROTECT YOUR HEALTH!

  • Before you open the window, or leave your home, check the air quality. If the air is polluted, wear a mask outside.