Yoga for Clean Lungs 對肺友幫助的瑜珈

Deep breathing, Yunlin’s most dangerous exercise 深呼吸，雲林的最危險的運動

Members of the Yunlin County Physician’s Group on Monday last week gather in Yunlin to demand that the public gets clean air.
雲林縣醫師團體上週一在雲林站出來，要政府還給人民乾淨新鮮的空氣。

Photo: Chan Shih-hung, Liberty Times 照片： 自由時報記者詹士弘攝

Deep breathing has become Yunlin County’s most dangerous exercise. On April 27, the spokesperson of Yunlin County Physician’s Group stated that he used to think Yunlin’s air was the cleanest in Taiwan, but now knows that there is a risk with each breath. If the government still does not address the pollution problem, no matter how much is spent on health insurance, it will never be enough.

Taiwan’s air quality has already worsened to the same level as China. The invisible nature of the hazard makes it only more worrying. PM2.5, which refers to particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers, is an invisible killer, making air pollution in Taiwan a matter of national security. The government must take more proactive measures, regulate the sources of pollution and control and manage overall pollution levels.

A doctor from Yunlin said, we can choose not to drink tea beverages from chains like 50 Lan or Stornaway, but we can not go a minute without breathing air. PM2.5 will raise the chances of the public getting asthma and lung cancer. Even foreign research indicates that dust under PM2.5 can be transferred to the brain through the alveolus and even lead to dementia.

The doctor said that when he found out that Yunlin had Taiwan’s worst air quality, it left him quite shocked. Big factories only create pollution for Yunlin; their taxes do not contribute anything to Yunlin. Yunlin used to have the best air quality, and now taking a deep breath has become the most dangerous exercise in this county. The government really must face up to this problem.

(Liberty Times, translated by Zane Kheir)

「深呼吸成雲林縣的最危險的運動」，雲林縣醫師團體發言人四月二七日表示，原本他以為雲林縣空氣最乾淨，現在才知道每吸一口氣都有風險，政府再不正視空污問題，健保費再多也不夠花。

TODAY’S WORDS
今日單字

1. worsen v. 惡化 

例: Relations between Japan and China have worsened recently.

(近來日本與中國的關係已經惡化。)

2. proactive adj. 積極 

例: Proactive students can easily improve their English.

(積極的學生可以輕易的提升英語能力。)

3. contribute v.貢獻 

例: I hope my work will contribute something to the team.

(我希望我的工作能對團隊有所貢獻。)

台灣的空氣品質已惡化到與中國同等級，看不到的傷害，讓人更為恐慌，pm兩點五是無形殺手，空污在台灣，已是國安問題，政府必須有更積極的作為，要從源頭、從污染總量管制起。

雲林的一位醫師表示，我們可以選擇不喝五十嵐、英國藍，但就是不能一分鐘不呼吸空氣，pm兩點五將提高民眾罹患哮喘、肺癌機率，甚至有國外研究指出，小於pm兩點五的灰塵，可透過肺泡轉移至腦部，甚至導致失智。

醫師說，得知雲林縣空氣品質全國最差，讓他相當震驚，大工廠對雲林只會製造污染，繳稅對雲林一點貢獻也沒有，原本空氣最好的雲林，變成「深呼吸成最危險的運動」，政府真的要正視問題。

〔自由時報記者詹士弘〕

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