Breathless

[whisperer]

Humans vs. Nature. This battle has been raging for decades. It is refreshing to hear the fight continues. As for your piece; I love your comparative language. Giving natural events human attributes gives them more life and a personal feeling. "afraid to taste the air we made", " restless release through rattling vents", "Politicians’ passionate gusts swirling with oil-slicked promises.", "trade winds are shifting, hauling our fear like cargo.". These are powerful and give a lot of weight to your piece and I'm ok with their placements in the narrative. I would tighten up a few places, though. "tons of plastic", "exhaust of traffic."  aren't quite as strong. Can you find other adjectives and verbs to give these lines more punch? Your opening lines fall a bit weak too. This is such a powerful message that should start off with a stronger punch.

We are all paralyzed between inhale and exhale.                        We are frozen between breaths
I see it in how the world draws breath while we hold ours.          We hold our breath while the earth inhales

I see the overwhelmed swell of the wetlands after storms,          It's in the swell of the wetlands after a storm

Now that I see this, the second line is somewhat redundant as it's already inferred in the first line. But these are some editing ideas you can use to tighten up the language and give it more strength. This is a great piece, great language and comparisons and great flow. Keep up the great work and thank you for sharing.