UNEP: the environmental crisis harms mental health
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The environmental crisis is damaging our mental health. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) dedicates a focus on the harmful effects of noise and air pollution, the dispersion of chemical waste and global warming.
On the occasion of the Mental Health Day (10 October), the most important global environmental authority reiterated the alarm, indicating concrete solutions to reverse the course.
1) Noise pollution
The incessant noise characterizes most of the cities. Urban agglomerations continue to grow, due to the arrival of people looking for work and better living conditions. But the greatest opportunities also involve exposing inhabitants to high levels of noise pollution.
Traffic road and rail, airports close to built-up areas, industries cause continuous noise that compromises people's mental health by interrupting their sleep.
1.1) Greener anti-noise
According to estimates, in Europe 22 million people suffer from chronic noise disturbances and 6,5 million suffer from sleep disturbances. The most at risk are the elderly, pregnant women and shift workers.
To improve the mental health of citizens and mitigate the negative effects of noise pollution, the UNEP Frontiers 2022 study suggests increasing vegetation in urban environments to absorb acoustic energy and reduce road amplification.
Green trees, shrubs, walls and roofsthey also generate positive visual effects and attract urban wildlife. Natural sounds, such as the chirping of birds, convey the peace of mind of being in a safe environment, which therefore reduces anxiety. (1)
2) Air pollution
Good air quality it is a luxury for the few. 99% of the world population breathes air with pollutant levels above the WHO guidelines. And 7 million people die prematurely because of air pollution, recalled Inger Andersen, UNEP director general. (2)
Mental health is also compromised. In particular that of children, for whom exposure to high levels of air pollution could cause psychological and behavioral problems, including the now well-known attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety and depression. (3)
2.1) How to improve the city air
The above-mentioned measures to improve air quality in cities have been recalled by the action platform Breathe Lifea whirlpool bath, partnerships between WHO, UNEP, la Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and the World Bank.
It's all about changes now very practicable, such as increasing electric mobility, walking and cycling, creating more green spaces, reducing air pollution caused by industry, transport, waste management etc. Unfortunately, useless measures against microplastics, which, as we have seen, permeate the air and penetrate our lungs. (4)
Unfortunately, there is still a long way to go, as the counter of the BreatheLife website shows, which indicates the victims of smog in the various cities. Over 37 in Berlin, more than 29 in Rome, 16 in Paris, 13 in Madrid, to name a few.
3) Chemical pollution
The chemicals dispersed in the environment are also a global health problem.
The lead has overt adverse effects on children's mental health. And unfortunately, as documented by Unicef, one in three children have blood lead at levels that can be associated with decreased intelligence, behavioral difficulties and learning problems. (5)
The containment measures of this form of pollution are still insufficient.
4) Climate change
Depression, anxiety, stress are the tip of theiceberg mental disorders associated with the harmful effects of climate change. Floods, 'water bombs', extreme drought, unsustainable heat levels are now the rule all over the planet. The resulting economic and social losses trigger anxiety and distress. Think of the territories of the Marche, crops, houses, businesses devastated a few days ago by an extreme weather event.
Reverse the trend that has brought us this far is an arduous undertaking, but worthy of hope. An encouragement comes from the resilience of nature, which within weeks of lockdown pandemic revealed to us an amazing resilience.
What to do
The change is already mapped out, for those who want to implement it. UNEP is at the forefront of support for the Paris Agreement's goal of keeping global temperature rise well below 2 ° C and aiming - for safety - at 1,5 ° C, compared to pre-industrial levels. .
Individual citizens-consumers they can do their part every day. For broader activism, 'virtuous' actions can be shared by downloading on smartphone the app 'A world in support of ActNow'.
Note
(1) Frontiers 2022: Noise, Blazes and Mismatches. UNEP. 17.2.22 https://www.unep.org/resources/frontiers-2022-noise-blazes-and-mismatches
(2) Inger Andersen. One health on the global map. 28th Tripartite Annual Executive Meeting. 17.3.22 https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/speech/one-health-global-map
(3) See UNICEF Danger in the Air report. December 2017 https://www.unicef.org/sites/default/files/press-releases/glo-media-Danger_in_the_Air.pdf
(4) Marta Strinati, Dario Dongo. Microplastics in our lungs too. The British study. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 12.4.22
(5) The toxic truth. Unicef https://www.unicef.org/reports/toxic-truth-childrens-exposure-to-lead-pollution-2020
