Air Pollution: Causes and Effects

The air we breathe today is full of toxic and hazardous pollution. Pollution is a big problem to our health and the environment. Pollution is created by individuals, communities or industries that collect and dispose pollutants improperly. Air pollution causes and effects are discussed in this essay together with the possible solutions to the problem.

Burning of fossil fuels like coal, petroleum and other factory combustibles is one major cause of air pollution, also vehicles like cars, trains and airplanes cause a big amount of air pollution. Carbon monoxide is a poisonous, odorless, colorless gas that is formed when burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum and natural gas. We rely on these fossil fuels to fulfil our daily needs of transportation but the overuse is killing our environment. Manufacturing industries release large amounts of chemicals into the air, these industries can be found in every corner of the earth and there is no area that has not been affected by it. Indoor air pollution like household cleaning products or painting supplies throws out toxic chemicals into the air. Mining operations, where minerals from below the earth are extracted, causing dust and chemicals to be released into the air. All these things cause Smog to form, smog is a yellowish or blackish fog formed mainly by a mixture of pollutants, when a city or town gets covered by smog the effects are felt immediately.

The effects of air pollution are alarming. They are known to create several heart and respiratory conditions along with cancer and other threats to the body. In large cities, over eighty percent of fatal pollutants that cause lung damage come from cars, buses, motorcycles and other vehicles on the road. Air pollution affects more kids than adults due to higher concentrations of polluted air in their systems per body size. Millions of people are known to have died due to the effects of Air pollution. Global warming is the immediate alteration that the world is witnessing, with increased temperatures worldwide, icebergs are melting causing sea level to rise, and toxic chemicals present in the air can cause animals to move to different habitats. Eutrophication is a chemical that is present in lakes and sea surfaces that turns itself into algae which affects sea animals and other fish. During the burning of fossil fuels harmful gases like nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxides are released into the atmosphere, when it rains the water droplets combine with the air pollutants and become acidic and form acid rain, acid rain can cause great damage to humans, animals and crops. Pollution is greatly affecting the ozone layer which is responsible for protecting humans from harmful ultraviolet rays; the ozone layer can become thinner and thinner with all these chemicals being released into the air. As the ozone layer gets thinner it will throw off harmful rays back on earth and can cause skin and eye problems and also affect crops.

Some solutions for air pollution are to encourage people to use more and more public modes of transportation to reduce pollution, like carpooling. Conserving energy like switching off fans and lights when you aren’t using them, we can save the environment by reducing the amount of fossil fuels being burnt. We also need to understand the concept of reduce, reuse and recycle. We can use clean energy technologies like solar, wind and water.

In conclusion, air pollution is a major concern that is occupying every country worldwide. Everyone has the responsibility to make everything possible to prevent the negative effects of the poor air quality. It should be an immediate need for governments’ sensibility to take action and implement different policies that will minimize the magnitude of this problem. Although there have been global initiatives like the Paris Agreement to alarm and address the consequences of one of the largest threats for human health and the global environment, the risk of public health and future of the earth is present and substantial. The air we breathe is full of poisonous substances that may harm the planet. It is everyone’s responsibility to take good care and avoid doing things that can pollute the air. Awareness is a good start to make this change. It is our obligation to protect the future generations and each individual should contribute and put every effort to make this happen.

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