Every now and then, an article like this one about a possible association between air pollution and cardiovascular disease pops up…and it reminds me of a magical Millennial memory from childhood cartoons…Captain Planet and the Planeteers!  A green-haired hero with hemochromatosis and an infectiously catchy theme song inspired an entire generation of impressionable children to take action against pollution and littering.  You could sometimes find a group of us shouting, “Go Planet!” as we picked up trash on various playgrounds.  The normal kids were actually playing on the playground, but we were certain that picking up the stray napkins and empty Doritos bags was, in fact, a noble and virtuous quest.  After all, Captain Planet had taught us that “Taking Pollution DOWN to Zero” was a crusade worthy of deferring our time on the monkey bars until the playground was free of other synthetic debris.  At one point, I even told people I was either going to be an entomologist (bug scientist) or a garbage man when I grew up…my family was appropriately concerned.

But then I grew up.  And every slogan from the various animated childhood Captains, including Crunch and Planet, lost their once-lustrous influences on my life.  And I decided that being a Lipid Scientist was cooler than being an Arthropod Investigator.

But I still think certain bugs are kind of cool.  I generally avoid inhaling deeply when plumes of smoke are billowing out of scorched structures.  And I still pick up prominent pieces of trash when I see them on the ground.  But I tend to think there are more readily identifiable and actionable factors than fine particulate matter and gaseous co-pollutants when it comes to cardiovascular health. Be a good steward of the environment…but don’t get so caught up in the smog that you ignore your metabolic Home Security System and Lipid Neighborhood😊