Twenty-first International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

The last seven years were the warmest humankind has experienced due to humanity’s fossil fuel addiction. Among the many disastrous consequences of climate change has been the rapid rise in wildfires. When calculating damages due to wildfires, we typically only consider the loss of lives and of infrastructure, often overseeing another alarming, equally important consequence: air pollution. Wildfires can cause increases in gaseous air pollutants such as carbon monoxide and formaldehyde. These pollutants can then enter and lodge deep within the human lungs, triggering asthma attacks, heart attacks, and strokes that can kill. In this study, I address how the detrimental health consequences of changing wildfire patterns due to climate change do not affect people equally. Wildfires fuel the cycle of racism and reverse previous equity gains since low-income communities cannot afford to pay the hefty hospital bills for complications associated with air pollution. However, one way to reduce this socioeconomic gap is to construct self-cleaning surfaces using photocatalysts, substances that mediate chemical reactions and are activated by light energy. Drawing from my research on the photocatalytic activity of different metal oxides, I conclude by suggesting a low-cost, short-term intervention: composite solutions that can be mixed with paints that coat walls to reduce air pollution from wildfires and ultimately improve our environment, health, and racial equity. Fighting climate change is an important, yet long process, but utilizing metal oxides is an effective step we can take right now.