In 1981, less than a month after evidence of global warming was first reported. front page, The New York Times asked B.F. Skinner. About the fate of humanity. The famous psychologist recently argued that the characteristics of the human mind virtually ensure global environmental disaster. “Why aren’t we acting to save the world?” asked Skinner, citing the myriad threats to the planet.
His answer is: Human behavior is determined almost entirely by experience. Specifically, what behaviors have been rewarded or punished in the past. The future, although it hasn’t happened yet, will never have the same influence on our actions. Today we seek the familiar rewards of money, comfort, security, pleasure, and power. Even if doing so threatens everyone on earth tomorrow.
Skinner was one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century, but he is rarely acknowledged for the prescientness of his warning, which predicted the actions of fossil fuel executives and politicians over the next 40 years. I struggled with that a lot. I’m a pediatrician in Reno, Nevada. Cities experiencing the most global warming In the US. I look into the eyes of babies, children, and teens every day. Skinner argued that our choices change only when the consequences of environmental damage move from “tomorrow” to “today.” I believe that in 2025, the harm to children will be so clear and immediate that parents, the sleeping giants of the fight against climate change, will wake up to what the fossil fuel industry has been doing. I am.
For example, for the past 10 years, my city has been in constant darkness due to wildfire smoke from California. 65 million Americans, Currently, mainly Western countries are experiencing such a “smoke crisis.” Everyone understands that smoke causes respiratory illnesses. When the air becomes dangerous for weeks, we all cough and wheeze. Few people realize that children are at greater risk from these events for a variety of reasons. The main reasons for this are related to differences in children’s physiology, small size, and immaturity of their organs, which are still developing and therefore highly vulnerable to environmental damage. child’s lungsFor example, it is literally shaped by the quality of the air you breathe. Children who chronically breathe in particulate pollution, such as those living in the most polluted areas of Los Angeles, tend to have smaller and stiffer lungs.
In 2025, the media will realize that the damage caused by these small pollutants is even more severe. That’s because scientific research shows that fine and ultrafine particles, usually combined with toxic chemicals and heavy metals in wildfire smoke and exhaust gas, are causing brain damage in children. Alarmingly, they appear to be contributing to the epidemic-like rise in autism. attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities, behavioral problems, etc. dementia.
why? Because these tiny pollutants don’t stay in your lungs. They enter the bloodstream and invade other organs, including the brain. The brain, like the lungs, is more susceptible to harm in children because it is still growing and developing.
Evidence for the neurological effects of particles comes from brain imaging, histology, and epidemiology. We know even before we are born, Particles inhaled by pregnant women It can cross the placenta and harm the fetus. MRI studies in several countries have shown that The structure of the brain has changed Many children exposed before birth had cognitive and behavioral difficulties. After birth, particles can also enter the prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain behind the forehead) after being inhaled through the nose. When scientists studied the brains of children and adolescents, mexico cityIn a region notorious for its poor air quality, researchers found fossil fuel particles encased in Alzheimer’s disease-like plaques embedded in the prefrontal cortex.
Evidence of a link between autism and ADHD has emerged from more than a decade of epidemiological studies conducted around the world. in Multi-year research For example, researchers found that prenatal exposure to PM2.5 (the smallest legally regulated particle) among nearly 300,000 children in Southern California significantly increased autism rates. And in recent research, 164,000 children in China They found that long-term exposure to fine particles increases the odds of ADHD. Autism and ADHD are complex disorders with multiple causes, both genetic and environmental, but it is becoming increasingly clear that air pollution caused by fossil fuels and exacerbated by climate change is a significant risk factor. It’s coming.
