The results from a recent study of particulate matter in the atmosphere demonstrated that up to 25% of air pollution is actually naturally occurring.  This pollution includes bacteria and viruses, pollen, hair and fur, and skin cells.

The study was conducted by sampling air from around the globe during different times of the year.  Ruprecht Jaenicke of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Mainz, Germany, found that a variety of biological contaminants, including dandruff, algae, bacteria, fur and viruses, were injected directly into the air through natural processes.

Despite the readily assumed premise that the overall volume of this particulate matter would vary with the seasons, the study found that the total concentration doesn’t change from season to season.  It was documented, however, that the different biological compounds do indeed demonstrate variability with the seasons.

For instance, the pollen concentration is highest in the spring (no surprises there, right?) while other particulate matter fell slightly.  The amount of decaying cellular matter, on the other hand, appears to peak during winter months when pollen concentrations are at their lowest.  The end result is that the total concentration of biological contaminants stays relatively steady — accounting for up to 25% of the total air pollution at any one time.

The study concluded that biological processes are a major source of primary aerosol particles.  These particles, like all air contaminants, can influence cloud formation and trigger precipitation (this is a known fact of atmospheric physics).  Jaenicke made clear the importance of understanding how these biological contaminants are distributed across the globe.

All of this leads me to wonder if we’re going to pass laws to limit the amount of hair and skin cells people can slough off at any given time in an attempt to control air pollution.  We should also consider laws to control those biological contaminants which are not injected into the atmosphere by humans, such as fur, pollen, and a significant portion of the identified bacteria and viruses.  Air quality is important to all of us, as I’m sure you agree, and we shouldn’t allow anyone to claim “natural process” as an excuse not to clean up their act.

I’m being sarcastic, of course, in an attempt to point out that we still do not clearly understand our own ecosystem or how the planet works.  This is yet another example of why the claims of man-made global warming are alarmist and premature at best.  The mere fact that normal biological activities cause pollution means that it’s a blatant lie to state that man is wholly responsible for any real or perceived changes in global weather patters, not to mention health problems related to contaminants in the air, localized environmental changes due to air pollution, and so on.

I’m not letting people off the hook.  We need to get our act together and start focusing on ways to significantly decrease (and eventually stop altogether) the damage we do to the environment.  What I am pointing out is that our industrialized activities are not the only perpetrators of pollution and that natural phenomena are just as likely to cause changes in our environment and to our weather.