Abstract

Air pollution causes millions of deaths globally every year. The cause is largely, but not solely, from fossil fuel combustion in the electricity generation and transport sectors as well as various agricultural and waste management practices. This pollution in the form of ground level ozone, particulate matter and acidic gases such as nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide causes respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological problems in humans. These health concerns tend to have a greater impact on more vulnerable sectors of societies, including street vendors, agricultural workers and school children. There is a growing body of evidence that the pollution has equally devastating impacts on other organisms including plants, which may harm whole ecosystems. As humans are integral to rather than independent of nature, then this will have further reciprocal effects on us. A survey of people in rural central Thailand indicates that people are largely unaware of the main causes of and, to some extent ambivalent of, the risks associated with air pollution. An absence of policy to address this through mechanisms such as taxation akin to tobacco, alcohol or the UK 2017 sugar tax and compulsory environmental education programmes could be viewed as evidence of moral blindness. In light of some events of the Covid-19 pandemic, the importance of developing united policies to cope with worldwide air pollution is never been more apparent. There is good news in that data on local air quality is becoming increasing available in user friendly apps, which creates an opportunity to develop participatory education programmes that could emphasise personal responsibility, to address both the twin pandemics of air pollution and environmental moral blindness.