JessicaRulestheUniverse.com

The second of the Boysen KNOxOUT Project: EDSA (Everyone Deserves Safe Air) artworks rendered in air-cleaning paint can now be seen at the Edsa Ortigas flyover.

Baby Imperial and Coco Anne composed the work, a mathematical/abstract “description” of the Edsa Revolution of 1986.

Boysen KNOxOUT Project: EDSA is the world’s first large-scale public art project using paints that can clean noxious air pollutants.

Meanwhile, some facts about the air we breathe.

• Metro Manila is reported to have the fourth most polluted air among major cities in the world

• Air pollution in Metro Manila causes almost 14 (avoidable) deaths per day, or about 5,000 premature deaths a year (according to the Philippine Environment Monitor, a joint study by the World Bank and DENR)

• Air pollution accounts for 1 out of every 8 deaths in Metro Manila.

• According to a World Bank study, air pollution is estimated to cost our country US$ 1.5 billion per year in lost wages and medical treatment.

• On average, every Filipino spends around P2,000 for treatment and medication for air pollution related illness every year

• A study made by the UP College of Medicine showed more than half of all drugs sold in the country are for respiratory diseases.

• A survey among doctors of the Philippine Pediatric Society showed that the most common illness they treat are respiratory diseases.

• The average 24-hour NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) level along EDSA is over 4 ½ times the limit set by the European Union and the World Health Organization. On days with higher traffic, the levels rise to 7 times over the limit.

• According to a Synovate survey in 2005, 98% of residents in Manila are affected by air pollution and 50% want to move to a less polluted place.