Good morning Singapore. Step outside the house today and breathe in deeply. You will notice that familiar choking stench in the air.

Who’s responsible for all this pollution? The shipping industry, construction industry or manufacturing industry or vehicle owners? Why should citizens be denied the access to breathe fresh air? At the moment, fresh air is available only at 3 am in the morning. Pollution is everyone's business. Air pollution get's blown around by the wind. It doesn't simply disappear into the air. Like volcanic ash, the particulate matter has to settle somewhere. In Korea, air quality is directly related to China's industrial activities.

In the worst case scenario, people may accept air pollution as the new normal just like melting glaciers attributed to climate change - which I hope isn’t going to be the case. Would you allow your children to swim in sea water knowing it is polluted with harmful chemicals? Are people too helpless or is it simply a matter of apathy?

The repercussions of air pollution is very real. Millions of people inhale polluted air (sometimes over 3 times WHO recommended levels) resulting in short term lung irritation to shortening life spans and degrading quality of life over a period of time. Unfortunately, the push for economic development has lead to the construction of many luxury resorts, high rise apartments and road infrastructure. This creates multitude of problems from dust, noise and water pollution.

Solutions are readily available in 2018. Instead of commuting to work, people can choose to work from the home. After all, communication is easily done with computers. Smart phones today serves as mobile offices as much as it is a communication device.

We can continue living in our man-made air-conditioned bubble or we can step out and make a lasting impact on the Earth through education, ethical investments and focusing on real progress - one that is measured in terms of the quality of life and not mere monetary wealth.