Air Polution : The Side Effects Of Air Pollution

In America, the saying has always been “bigger is better” Americans want bigger houses, bigger cars, and bigger dinner plates. Who knew that bigger was not always better. Lifted diesel trucks are sot after by young males who do not actually haul anything. Trucks are considered a fashion statement in America. These trucks have no use other than polluting the air. Automobiles are responsible for more than half of the air pollution in the world. This air pollution wreaks havoc on the environment and health. The vehicles release carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. These gases already exist in the atmosphere at a tolerable rate. When vehicles increase the amount of these gases, humanity pays through sickness. Society cannot just take away all the vehicles off the road. Humanity has become dependent on modern transportation to meet the economic demands. There is however a way humanity can reduce air pollution without eliminating vehicles. When the destination is close, people can walk or ride a bicycle. Not only are they helping with air pollution but they are increasing their health

In the United States alone, nearly 150 million people live in areas that don’t meet federal air quality standards. For many years, air pollution has been on the rise but more recently it’s been proved how pollution poses a greater danger to both the environment and the everyday individual. Its everlasting effects on the world, such as global warming and its depletion of the ozone layer, are going to play a huge role in the years to come. Consequently, there has been an increase in death rates from various illnesses caused by air pollution, varying from breathing problems to even worse, lung cancer. While these effects may go unnoticed, they are still an enormous issue at hand and are triggering more complications within our society. Though

Almost every activity a human is involved in, creates a greenhouse gas. Every day those gases are destroying our atmosphere, and changing natural events in nature. Not only are humans destroying the atmosphere, most humans do not understand what they are doing. From cutting down trees for buildings and paper, throwing away garbage, turning on an air conditioner, producing food, and multiple other things, humans have destroyed earth’s atmosphere to the point where humans would have to plant 50 million hectares, or 123,552,691 acres of trees to reverse the damage we have done to our

Transportation is the number one thing we consumers do that harms the environment. Transportation causes the highest amount of environmental damage overall - nearly half of the toxic air pollution and more than a quarter of the greenhouse gases traceable to household consumption. Over time, however, sales of trucks, vans and SUV's went from 16% market share to over 50%. One big auto manufacturer even shelved their work of the last three years, spent updating their most popular selling economy car, so they could spend the money getting SUVs to market faster.

Air pollution can drastically affect the health of the environment in various ways that can affect the quality of life of individuals. For example, ground level ozone is a colorless gas that is formed when nitrogen oxides volatile organic compounds react in the sun. This ozone is the reason why there is smog. Air pollution causes exhaustion of the ozone layer, which permits a more prominent number of bright beams to earth, that can be destructive for people. This issue affects not only human

Historically (pre-1892), the agrarian landscape was conducive to clean air; a time void of pollutants; however, with the advent of the industrial revolution, air quality was forever changed. Interestingly, two of today’s leading contributors of emissions are the result of two significant man-made events dating back to 1892 and 1893, which first began polluting the air. First came the emergence of factories with their emission billowing smokestacks (Davis & Henderson, 2011), which was followed by the first gasoline-powered automobile housing an internal combustion engine in 1983 (The Library of Congress, 2017). Although there’s shared knowledge about the importance of air quality and the health implications associated with air pollution, factories are still releasing toxic fumes and automobiles are releasing exhaust (Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry, 2013). Subsequently, that which was the catalyst that carried society into the modern era remains a public health threat 125 years later.

Having over 121,000 kilometers of rail lines throughout China and 228,218 kilometers throughout the United States transcontinental travel throughout the countries has become immensely accessible. The use of such transports has subsequently resulted in an emittance of pollutants such as nitrous oxide, particulate matter, and carbon dioxide. The increase of the anthropocentric activity dictates the positive feed back loop of the total emissions of criteria pollutants.

We are getting rid of materials that the world would benefit from. Cutting down trees that produce an enormous amount of oxygen for the people can damage the lives of many. “Air pollution is a grave environmental reality affecting many people across the world and affecting their health and the overall quality of life” (Class notes, Lecture 6).There are certain that we should be protecting, but many do not see a reason to do so, we look at the many products that can come from it not the quality of life.

Chemical compounds used in cleaning products and industrial production are being used every day. Some of these chemicals are naturally occurring but others are synthetic and can cause harm to the environment and human population, by being released into the atmosphere. The ever-changing atmosphere, especially in Pittsburgh, is filled with different compounds. Many of the compounds found in air are naturally occurring but some of these compounds such as Titanium tetrachloride, Vinyl Chloride, and Benzene are emitted from factories and some household items and cause health and environmental effects. Possible solutions to reduce and possibly eliminate exposure are then be explored.

Air pollution is a major cause of disease and death in large cities, which can be prevented. Despite improvements to enhance air quality through the years, the San Joaquin Valley does not meet the requirements of federal and state health ozone levels and particulate pollutants. Ozone is particularly a problem during the summer because high temperatures "cook" chemicals with sunlight to produce smog. Particles, meanwhile, represent a problem during the fall and winter season, when the increase in vehicle emissions and investing layers prevent the spread of these contaminants. Contaminant particles with a size of 10 microns or less (PM10) are a mixture of soot, chemicals, dust, salt, dirt, metals, smoke and toxins. PM10 are very small, about one-seventh the width of a human hair. Although they are micro size, they are dangerous as they can penetrate the body's natural defenses and concentrate on the depth of the lungs. Exposure to high concentrations of these particles can cause heart attacks, increase the risk of lung cancer, worsening conditions such as asthma and bronchitis, and reduce the function of the lungs. PM10 also include the group of particles known as PM2.5 refined. The sources of air pollution and related poor health are in transportation, power generation, home, for example, and vary between cities and regions. Effective interventions can reduce air pollution related diseases and produce health benefits, example, sustainable transport, energy-efficient buildings

A major public health challenge facing the people of Honduras is the issue of household air pollution (HAP). HAP is a dangerous form of environmental health hazard, so much so that the World Health Organization (WHO) has called it “the most important global environmental health risk today”. HAP is air pollution that is produced inside the home due to cooking, lightening, and heating needs and is typically the result of burning biomass fuels such as wood or coal, which produces “products of incomplete combustion such as carbon monoxide and particulate matter (PM).” Behaviors such as smoking indoors also contribute to poor indoor air quality. The worldwide impact of HAP is massive, with the WHO estimating that a total of 4.3 million deaths were linked to HAP in 2012. Honduras is part of this global burden of disease, as over half of Honduras’s population cooks with biomass, placing thousands at risk.

The purpose of this paper is to find the correlation between air pollution and society’s responsibility to promote a cleaner safer environment for its citizens. My research question is: How can society help keep the air we breathe safe? There are so many chemicals and other vapors that are emitted into the air that it becomes a chore for people with respiratory problems, i.e., asthma, to breathe without some assistance and in some cases of older individuals, carry an oxygen tank daily. Can some of these health issues be prevented if we managed our air pollution better?

“To taste the morning air! The deliciously crisp and sweet air for which I long” (O'Sheridan, 2011). Have you tasted the salty air of the sea or the cold, crisp air of the Colorado Rockies? According to recent studies scientists have found that the human lung can “taste” bitter substances in the air. (Connor, 2010) So how about the layered bitter, astringent, smoky taste of Shanghai? In January of 2013, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing reported that a toxic cloud the size of the Greenland covered parts of China causing the levels of a particulate air pollution that seeps into the lung, vein, and heart tissue, to surge above 850 micrograms per cubic meter. According to the UN, 20 micrograms per cubic meter is considered to be the highest safe level. (Meyer, 2017)

According to the World Health Organization, approximately 7 million premature deaths annually are linked to air pollution. Air pollution is described as “a mixture of solid particles and gases in the air” (“Air Pollution” MedlinePlus). This form of pollution mainly occurs from the burning of fossil fuels, noxious gases from vehicles, manufacturing chemicals, ground-level ozone (a reactive form of oxygen and a primary component of urban smog), and tobacco smoke (“Air Pollution” National Institute...). These emissions suspend deadly particles around in the air that can remain in the environment for long periods of time. People exposed to high levels of air pollutants may experience “burning in their eyes, an irritated throat, or breathing difficulties” (“Basic Information”). Moreover, this pollution can lead to serious, long-term health concerns including accelerated aging of the lungs, lost lung capacity, decreased lung functionality, and developed diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, and possibly cancer (“Health Effects”). Air pollution poses a threat to the majority of Earth’s population due to the fact that the average adult breathes in 3,000 gallons of air everyday (“Basic Information”).

Life on earth is just moments away from being completely abolished by the human race. Although the phrase may have been exaggerated, Earth will result in self-destruction if the quantity of both human and natural actions, which are the primary causes of air pollution, start to significantly accumulate on a monthly basis. Natural events that pollute the air includes forest fires, volcanic eruptions, wind erosion, natural radioactivity, and evaporation of organic compounds. However, pollution from natural occurrences are less common than pollution from human sources. Humans produce a significant amount of emissions from industries and manufacturing activities, such as burning fossil fuels, and household and farming chemicals. Therefore, the detrimental effects of human induced air pollution include acid rain, global climate change, as well as crop and forest damage. In consequence, creating many hazardous living conditions that jeopardizes the existence of all living organisms on Earth – who was once immensely glamorous and salubrious.