The World's Most Polluted Places

"A new report [PDF] from the New York-based Blacksmith Institute and the Green Cross, a nonprofit in Switzerland, names the world's 10 most polluted places," reports Ben Schiller. "While it doesn't make for pleasant reading, the report shines a light on an under-acknowledged problem. Environmental pollution is a major cause of disease, particularly among children, many of whom are running freely around places like Agbogbloshie [Ghana]."

"The strikingly high number of people at risk established toxic pollution as a public health threat equivalent to more highly publicized public health problems such as malaria and tuberculosis," says the Blacksmith/Green Cross report. "Even though toxic pollution remains a far less well-known problem, it is believed to have a similar impact on death and disability in developing countries as many well-known and well-funded diseases."