Essay and Audio by Paola Sarmiento

Living in the most polluted city on Colombia.

Audio: Here

The biggest city in Colombia is Bogotá, the capital city of the country. It’s called the Land of Opportunities and it’s the center of the government, the commerce and all the major activities. It’s is also a city filled with a variety of people from all over the country, so it’s definitively over-populated, facing all kind of social problems. With a population of approximately 8 million people, a reported figure of 1,447,335 private vehicles registered in the city and an accelerated expansion of building trade, Bogotá faces a long list of environmental problems, which keep increasing every day. All things considered, we have one of the most worrying issues of all: Air Pollution. Coming from factories, the bad management of disposals and mainly the contamination from vehicles, Air pollution is the biggest worry of environmental authorities. As far as I concerned and in my 10 years’ experience here, living in Bogotá have become a dangerous life-situation for the citizens, not only in terms of safety but also in relation with Public Health. 

According to Bogotá’s Secretaría Distrital de Movilidad (District Mobility Secretariat) In December 2013 there were 1,447,335 private vehicles registered in the city, representing a 76 percent increase in vehicles in only seven years (Americas Quarterly, 2014). This great amount of transport emissions becomes one of the main causes of contamination in the air. The dangerous concentrations of particulate matter (PM10) are firing the environmental alerts. These 3 particles are able to penetrate the respiratory system, leading to various debilitating illnesses like asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory infections. The District Secretary of Health in Bogotá has claimed that respiratory illnesses are the number one cause of infant mortality in the capital. Around 600,000 children under the age of five are treated for respiratory problems every year. 

For a citizen in Bogotá, finding a way to fight the damage a situation like these causes, it’s almost impossible. There I no really a place you can hide from the air pollution we are obligated to breath every day, every moment. That’s why it is important to remember that part of the solution it’s somehow in our hands too, by deciding to use ecological means of transportation, avoid the indiscriminate burning of garbage etc. Of course, to tell you the truth, we all know that the real solution comes from the policies made by the government institutions. It is clear that the Municipal Hall is responsible to create the laws and policies that will allow the institutions to make the necessary changes to stop the gasses that produce the air pollution we are force to breath on daily bases. 

Personally, I have found life in Bogotá rather chaotic but enriching at the same time. During the 10 years I’ve been living here, I have experience several environmental issues, from the unpleasant amounts of trash and waste everywhere, to the changing climate and of course, the Air Pollution. This last one, have affected me on a personal level, causing me repetitive breathing problems. In this writer’s opinion, for these reasons and many others, living in Bogotá it’s becoming increasingly dangerous and harmful for human health and the environment we call “Home”. 

References 

Aloy, T. (2013). Speakout Advanced p 27. Expressing Opinions. ExtraVocabulary. Retrieve from http://englishadvanced2.blogspot.com.co/2013/10/speakoutadvancedp-27-expressing.html  

Whiting, K. (2014). Gasping for a Solution to Bogotá’s Air Pollution Problem. Americas Quarterly. Retrieve from: http://www.americasquarterly.org/content/gaspingsolution-bogota-air-pollution-problem