The snail-borne disease schistosomiasis, causes an estimated 1 million deaths annually and is expanding its range as human activities provide more suitable habitats in contaminated fresh water. Following construction in 1968 of Egypt's Aswan High Dam and associated irrigation systems, prevalence of the Schistosoma mansoni organism in humans in the region increased from 5 percent to 77 percent. Lack of sanitary conditions contributes each year to approximately 2 billion diarrhoea infections and 4 million deaths, mostly among infants and young children in developing countries. Dengue fever, spread by mosquitoes that breed in old tires and other water-holding junk in crowded urban environments, infects an additional 30 million to 60 million people each year. Less than 1 percent of 500 Chinese cities have clean air.
Respiratory disease is the leading cause of death in China.
In China, where tobacco smoking increased from approximately 360 to nearly 1,800 cigarettes per person per year, males smoke 98 percent of the cigarettes. However, mortality due to lung cancer is approximately equal in males and females. The global use of agricultural pesticides rose from about 50 million kilograms a year in 1945 to current application rates of approximately 2.5 billion kilograms per year. Most modern pesticides are more than 10 times as toxic to living organisms than those used in the 1950s. For no reason whatsoever your car would crash twice a day.