What two (or more) quotes capture the message of the article?
“The city’s air is polluting children’s brains.”
“The latest study concluded that the effects of PAH were exacerbated by poverty, calling it the latest evidence of how ‘socioeconomic disadvantage can increase the adverse effects of toxic physical ‘stressors’ like air pollutants’.”
“ ‘This report adds to the growing literature on the vulnerability of the developing fetus and young child to the toxic effects of environmental pollutants,’ the study says.”
What is the main point of the article, and how is it supported?
The main point of the article is that air pollution has an impact of the IQ scores of children. The article also related this impact of air pollution to the socioeconomic disadvantages of the families impacted by air pollution.
The air pollution and IQ argument is supported by the research conducted on the “development of 276 minority children form Harlem, Washington Heights and the South Bronx for seven years—starting while their mothers were pregnant.” The study found that the kids exposed to the most air pollution scored 6.6 points lower than the other children in the group. Those children also scored 8 points lower for “working memory” and 5.7 points lower for “perceptual reasoning.
The relation to the socioeconomic impact is supported by the second study discussed in the article, which showed that “the effects of PAH were exacerbated by poverty.”
What actors (individuals or organizations) are referred to? (Provide names and short descriptions.)
Researchers: Conducted their research on the 276 minority children form Harlem, Washington Heights and the South Brown for seven years.
Children: subjects of the study. The levels of their IQ, as well as their performance in school, were monitored for 7 years by the researchers of the study.
What kind of causation or responsibility is argued or implied in the article?
The article states that there is causation between air pollution and the IQ levels in children. The article also stated that there is a relationship between families that are at a socioeconomic disadvantage and the chances that they will be exposed to the negative impacts of air pollution.
How (if at all) are health disparities or other equity issues addressed in the article or report?
The article discussed the fact that these children are negatively impacted highly due to their socioeconomic standing; this represents an equity issue because these children, who have no say in which environment they will be brought up in, suffer the impacts of air pollution—something that is outside of their control.
The article also shows an equity issue that presents itself in the school lives of these children. The impact of air pollution doesn’t just stop at their IQ levels, it also shows itself in their classrooms, where they have trouble with perceptual reasoning, which is what allows people to find solutions to non-verbal solutions. It also impacts their working memory, and as a result, negatively impacts their ability to deal with planning and carrying out behavior. Therefore, they are placed at a huge learning disadvantage in school.
What three points, details or references from the article did you follow up on to advance your understanding of the issued and actors described in the article?
I followed up on how schools educate about asthma and about life with asthma, as well as any recent sources of air pollution in places where there have been issues with asthma in the past, such as Harlem.
Samrin Ali
Full citation and link
Campanile, Carl, “The air in NYC lowers kids’ IQs,” New York Post, May 26, 2015.
http://nypost.com/2015/05/26/new-yorks-pollution-and-poverty-are-killing-kids-iq-study/
What two (or more) quotes capture the message of the article?
“The city’s air is polluting children’s brains.”
“The latest study concluded that the effects of PAH were exacerbated by poverty, calling it the latest evidence of how ‘socioeconomic disadvantage can increase the adverse effects of toxic physical ‘stressors’ like air pollutants’.”
“ ‘This report adds to the growing literature on the vulnerability of the developing fetus and young child to the toxic effects of environmental pollutants,’ the study says.”
What is the main point of the article, and how is it supported?
The main point of the article is that air pollution has an impact of the IQ scores of children. The article also related this impact of air pollution to the socioeconomic disadvantages of the families impacted by air pollution.
The air pollution and IQ argument is supported by the research conducted on the “development of 276 minority children form Harlem, Washington Heights and the South Bronx for seven years—starting while their mothers were pregnant.” The study found that the kids exposed to the most air pollution scored 6.6 points lower than the other children in the group. Those children also scored 8 points lower for “working memory” and 5.7 points lower for “perceptual reasoning.
The relation to the socioeconomic impact is supported by the second study discussed in the article, which showed that “the effects of PAH were exacerbated by poverty.”
What actors (individuals or organizations) are referred to? (Provide names and short descriptions.)
Researchers: Conducted their research on the 276 minority children form Harlem, Washington Heights and the South Brown for seven years.
Children: subjects of the study. The levels of their IQ, as well as their performance in school, were monitored for 7 years by the researchers of the study.
What kind of causation or responsibility is argued or implied in the article?
The article states that there is causation between air pollution and the IQ levels in children. The article also stated that there is a relationship between families that are at a socioeconomic disadvantage and the chances that they will be exposed to the negative impacts of air pollution.
How (if at all) are health disparities or other equity issues addressed in the article or report?
The article discussed the fact that these children are negatively impacted highly due to their socioeconomic standing; this represents an equity issue because these children, who have no say in which environment they will be brought up in, suffer the impacts of air pollution—something that is outside of their control.
The article also shows an equity issue that presents itself in the school lives of these children. The impact of air pollution doesn’t just stop at their IQ levels, it also shows itself in their classrooms, where they have trouble with perceptual reasoning, which is what allows people to find solutions to non-verbal solutions. It also impacts their working memory, and as a result, negatively impacts their ability to deal with planning and carrying out behavior. Therefore, they are placed at a huge learning disadvantage in school.
What three points, details or references from the article did you follow up on to advance your understanding of the issued and actors described in the article?
I followed up on how schools educate about asthma and about life with asthma, as well as any recent sources of air pollution in places where there have been issues with asthma in the past, such as Harlem.