Shape of things to come? - Traffic smoke poisons Tehran residents.

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Tehran being 'poisoned' by smog

 

TEHRAN (AFP) Dec 12, 2005

 

A thick blanket of hideous smog covering Tehran has turned residents of the

Iranian capital into cranky citizens wracked by permanent headaches, breathing

problems and nausea.

In short, health experts warn, the sprawling metropolis of 10 million people

is being slowly poisoned by the cloud of exhaust emissions -- including deadly

carbon monoxide -- churned out by millions of decrepit, gas guzzling cars.

" Tehran has been trapped in a spiral of sickness. Its people are dying a slow

death as a consequence of negligence in sustainable city development, " Dr Hassan

Laghai, an environmental expert and advisor to Tehran's mayor, told AFP. The

consequences of the suffocating smog are alarming: intelligence and brain

functions, particularly among children, are being impaired, while cancer is seen

as an inevitable hazard of living in one of the world's most polluted cities.

" Based on psychological studies, the pollution raises tension and violence too, "

said Laghai, referring to phenomena such as increased " road rage " and the

general bad mood sweeping the city. " The quality of life in Tehran is less

than zero, " was Laghai's assessment of one of the Middle

East's largest cities.

http://www.terradaily.com/2005/051212103509.grvjgd6t.html

 

 

We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount.

Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war

than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living.

-- General Omar Bradley

 

 

 

 

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