HBCU Writers's Project
For Immediate Release
January 22, 2013
Contact Information

Sydnee Mitchell
Florida A&M University

(BPRW) How High: Asthma Among Blacks

(BLACK PR WIRE/FAMU-TALLAHASSEE) "" The current climate crisis will soon take us on a tale of life and breath. Everyday students walk around and fulfill their daily duties unaware of the changes at hand. Not knowing that this generation's future grandkids will have to endure the hardships of the Earth's wrath soon to come. Global warming is real and it appears before you all over the world if you open your eyes. There are relatable signs of change right before you.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America finds that every day in America, 40,000 people miss school or work due to asthma, 30,000 people have an asthma attack, 5,000 people visit the emergency room due to asthma, 1,000 people are admitted to the hospital due to asthma, and 11 people die from asthma.

Vigorous exercise means breathing gets up to 17 times faster, drawing air deeper into the lungs. Selina Lovelace, a second year criminal justice student at Florida A&M University says, "Having asthma sometimes hinders me from doing the one thing I love most. Dancing with House Arrest 2 has been the best part about being in school, but sometimes I just can't keep up." Seven million American children (nearly one in every six black children) have asthma, and the rate has been rising the past few decades. The reported rate has risen 50 percent between 2001 and 2010, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Global warming is producing an epidemic of results.

Studies also show there is a link between car exhaust fumes and asthma in children. Car pollution has emerged as one of the leading causes in asthma among the black community. A team at the University of Southern California, led by Dr. Rob McConnell, "tracked 3,535 children aged nine and over with no history of asthma. By the end of the five-year study 265 had developed it."

This is an epidemic that could be stopped if students took a stance. Idling is a term that means letting a car run while it is not in motion for long periods of time, take rush hour traffic or a long drive-thru line, for example. Dr. Ron Saff came up with a campaign to remain "Idle Free." Rather than you and your friends driving separate cars, try car pooling or even riding the bus together. Instead of waiting for a few items on a fast food menu, just walk inside. Taking a few simple steps out of your way can make the community so much more tolerable for your peers affected by the chronic condition. Teamwork can save lives.