Throughout this course we have discussed the various ways in which the human race is impacting the environment.  We have looked at its effect amongst various species in the ocean and on land, and how the future of our environment is drastically changing for the worse, year by year.  While we spend most of our time looking at how these changes are effecting other species within our world, we have not really discussed how these dangers are currently effecting the human race.  In the article I have chosen to write about “Environmental Factors Like Pollution Cause a Quarter of Deaths” discusses the 2012 results from the World Health Organization.  The article states that nearly 12.6 million deaths out of 55.6 million are the result of environmental risk factors.  The biggest factor is stated as air pollution, which is responsible for lung and respiratory infections, heart disease, and cancer.  Also, water pollution is a major contributor as it leads to diarrheal diseases and infant mortality.

In my opinion, these statistics are astonishing.  I had never realized how severe the air pollution and water pollution really was to our health and how large of an impact it was having on death tolls.  It is sad to see that our own companies and population are impacting the deaths at such a high level by polluting the earth.  There needs to be a change in the future from the current system and hopefully we can decrease these factors to live in a more environmentally safe world.

Tavernise, Sabrina. “Environmental Factors Like Pollution Cause a Quarter of Deaths, W.H.O. Says.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Mar. 2016. Web. 20 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/15/health/environmental-factors-like-pollution-cause-a-quarter-of-deaths-who-says.html>.