The average person takes between 17,000 and 23,000 breaths daily, depending on age and health. It is axiomatic that our atmosphere is essential to life and should not pose a risk to our health.

Under most circumstances, polluted air is invisible due to the microscopic size of airborne contaminants.  Yet these invisible poisons in our air kill 6.5 million people a year.   As of 2017, this number surpasses the combined death toll from AIDS, auto accidents, cholera, malaria, pneumonia, and war combined.

According to the World Health Organization, 92% of the world’s population breathes polluted air. There are 1.2 billion cars on the road today, 2 billion projected for 2035, 1446 operating coal-fired power plants, and an additional 2291 coal-fired plants either under construction or in planning stages. In NYC alone, there are over a million buildings, each burning fossil fuel to warm people who live or work within them. All those chimneys and pipes are pouring combustion by-products into the air we breathe, which affects the health and well-being of all.

It is up to each person to protect the air that sustains life on our planet. 

The Air We Breathe was comprised of special guests who spoke from their expertise to help us see the unseen, learn about the effects of inhaling combustion by-products, and discuss what might be done today and tomorrow to help safeguard the health of you and your family: Garth Lenz fine art photographer,  Fred Ritchin, Dean of the International Center of Photography, Dr. George Thurston Professor of Environmental Medicine, Dr. Maureen George PhD, RN, AE-C, FAAN, Deborah Goldberg, Managing Attorney, Earthjustice, Eric Weltman, senior organizer Food and Water Watch, and filmmaker George Pakenham,  Idle Threat.

The panel presentation was followed by a question and answer period.

The Air We Breathe was sponsored by the Tisch School of the Arts
Friday, March 10, 1:00 – 3:30 pm, 2017, at the Stern School of Business Paulson Auditorium,  40 West 4th St NY 10012

All photos used on this website were used with permission by panelist and photographer Garth Lenz.

Thanks to the panelists and Allyson Green, Dean Tisch School of the Arts.
Peter Terezakis, MPS
Associate Arts Professor
Tisch School of the Arts