We have learned to live with pollution the way people once learned to live with leaded gasoline and secondhand smoke: by treating the unacceptable as inevitable. We track markets, weather, and our daily steps with precision, yet still accept contaminated air and water as background noise.

We tell parents to keep children indoors when the air turns hazardous. We tell workers to protect themselves on job sites where exposure is routine. We tell communities living near highways, ports, refineries, and industrial corridors that this is simply the cost of modern life. It is not. It is the cost of delay.

According to the World Health Organization, air pollution causes roughly 7 million premature deaths every year, and nine out of ten people worldwide breathe air that exceeds recommended safety limits. This is not a niche environmental concern—it is a global public health emergency.

A comprehensive analysis published in The Lancet Planetary Health estimates that pollution in all its forms is responsible for approximately 9 million deaths annually—about one in six deaths worldwide—and trillions of dollars in economic losses each year.

These figures are not abstract. They translate into asthma attacks, cardiovascular disease, developmental harm in children, lost productivity, and shortened lives. Pollution affects everyone, but exposure is highest in communities already burdened by economic and health inequities, making this not only an environmental failure but a moral one.

Pollution is often framed as a local problem, yet it is inherently global. Air pollution crosses borders. Water contamination travels downstream. Industrial emissions embedded in global supply chains affect people thousands of miles from where goods are produced. No nation can fully isolate itself from pollution created elsewhere.

This is also why pollution cannot be separated from the climate discussion. Many of the same sources—fossil fuel combustion, industrial processes, inefficient logistics, and waste burning—drive both greenhouse gas emissions and the pollutants that damage human health today. Reducing pollution delivers immediate benefits while reinforcing long-term climate goals.

The United Nations Environment Programme has emphasized how modern air-quality monitoring—combining satellite data, advanced analytics, and low-cost sensors—can dramatically improve transparency, accountability, and enforcement.

Industrial pollution control technologies have also evolved. Advanced filtration systems, scrubbers, catalytic controls, and process optimization tools can significantly reduce harmful emissions when paired with continuous measurement and performance verification.

Digital tools are accelerating progress. Artificial intelligence and predictive analytics can identify emission spikes, detect failing equipment, and guide targeted interventions before problems escalate. For water systems, next-generation treatment technologies are addressing contaminants once thought too difficult or costly to manage.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development warns that without stronger action, pollution-related health costs will continue to rise, placing growing strain on economies and healthcare systems worldwide.

If pollution were treated with the urgency of any other systemic threat causing millions of deaths each year, our response would look very different. Monitoring would be universal and transparent. Continuous verification would replace one-time permitting for major polluters. High-exposure communities would be prioritized for solutions, not left behind.

Pollution is not the unavoidable cost of growth. It is a solvable problem—and one that demands immediate, coordinated action. Clean air and clean water are not luxuries. They are essential infrastructure.

Anoosheh Oskouian is a chemical engineer with a passion for sustainability. She is dedicated to advancing green technologies and advocating for environmental stewardship within industrial sectors, and is CEO of Ship & Shore Environmental, Inc. She spearheads innovative strategies to reduce industrial pollution and improve air quality globally. With a background in chemical engineering and a passion for sustainability, Anoosheh is dedicated to advancing green technologies and advocating for environmental stewardship. Visit: https://shipandshore.com.