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Air Pollution In America

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The primary cause of climate change is the burning of fossil fuels. Carbon pollution causes more frequent and severe storms, floods, heat waves, and wild fires. Power plants and major industrial facilities in Georgia Emitted more than eighty-five metric tons of carbon pollution in 2011. Thirteen counties in metro Atlanta are currently in nonattainment because the region does not meet the federal air quality standard. The American Lung Association’s “State of the Air 2015” report gave a failing grade on ozone to Gwinnett County where I currently live in Metro Atlanta. Metro Atlanta’s air pollution problem is due to the population growth, traffic congestion, and the lack of a large scale transit system. In 2000 the American Lung Association’s “State of the Air” ranked Atlanta as the ninth most populated city for the ozone but we have improved since then. The south usually has problems with the ozone due to more sunlight and warmer temperatures. Nationwide nearly forty-four percent of the people live in a place where pollution levels are often too dangerous to breath. Air pollution can lead to serious health issues such as heart disease, heart attacks, and an increase risk of death from lung cancer. According to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division on average Atlanta has around forty “code orange” days where health officials warn that children and people sensitive to ozone, people with heart or lung disease to limit outdoor exertion during the afternoon or evening

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