Part 1: What is an environment?

The environment is the air we breathe, and the water we drink, and it is
everything we need for our life. Environment plays a crucial part in our
life that helps us to maintain a healthy life. Therefore, we need to
protect the environment and the ecosystem as much as possible.
However, the environment is being polluted, it is an extremely alarming
matter in modern society. There are lots of types of environmental
pollution but two remarkable problems are air pollution and water
pollution.
Part 2: Air pollution
Air pollution is the contamination of the indoor or outdoor
environment by any chemical, physical, or biological agent that alters
the natural characteristics of the atmosphere.
Some air pollution is from natural causes, but most are caused by
humans, and it can impact every aspect of our lives. The biggest
contributors to air pollution are industry sources and power plants that
generate power, as well as fossil fuel motor vehicles. Air is damaged by
car and lorry fumes, and power stations create acid rain, destroying
forests and lakes. When fossil fuels like oil, gas, and coal are burned to
provide energy for lighting and cooking… they form polluting gases. The
continuous burning of fossil fuels releases air pollutants, emissions, and
chemicals into the air and atmosphere.
Furthermore, the main cause of air pollution in Vietnam is the
transportation system. There are over 3.6 million cars on the roads and
58 million motorbikes. The majority of these vehicles are found in
towns and cities throughout the country. Most of these vehicles are old
and therefore fall short of recommended emission standards. Together
they cause daily traffic jams whilst constantly emitting black smoke into
the atmosphere. These vehicles also include the old buses still in use
and the trucks and lorries used by the construction companies.
What Is Air Quality?
When air quality is good, the air is clear and contains only small
amounts of solid particles and chemical pollutants. Poor air quality,
which contains high levels of pollutants, is often hazy and dangerous to
health and the environment. Air quality is described according to the
Air Quality Index (AQI), which is based on the concentration of
pollutants present in the air at a particular location.
Meanwhile, Hanoi which is the capital city in the north ranked amongst
the top 15 most polluted cities in South East Asia, according to the IQAir
AirVisual 2019 World Air Quality Report, with a US AQI figure of 129. Ho
Chi Minh City which is a large city in the south ranked as the cleanest
with a US AQI figure of 79. The average annual US AQI figure was 97.

Part 3:
So how does it negatively affect citizens’ health?
Air pollution affects all things. It is harmful to our health, and it impacts
the environment by reducing visibility and blocking sunlight, causing
acid rain, and harming forests, wildlife, and agriculture. Greenhouse gas
pollution, the cause of climate change, affect the entire planet.
According to the World Health Organization, an estimated seven million
people die each year from air pollution. Ground-level ozone causes
muscles in the lungs to contract, making it difficult to breathe. Exposure
to high ozone levels can cause sore throat, coughing, lung
inflammation, and permanent lung damage.
Urban populations are also at greater risk due to high concentrations of
pollution within cities
Buildings and other structures are also impacted by acid rain, which
causes an estimated five billion dollars of property damage each year.
Acid rain dissolves mortar between bricks, causes stone foundations to
become unstable, and is destroying ancient buildings and statues
carved from marble and limestone.
Reducing Sunlight: High levels of particulate pollution from all types of
burning reduce the amount of sunlight that reaches the surface and
even change the appearance of the sky. When less sunlight is available
for photosynthesis, forests grow at a slower rate and crops are less
productive. Hazy skies not only reduce visibility but also impact the
weather and even the climate.
Greenhouse gas pollution is causing climate change. As a result,
ecosystems are changing faster than plants and animals can adapt, and
many species are going extinct.
Melting ice sheets, warming oceans, and extreme weather conditions
are examples of how climate changes caused by greenhouse gas
pollution threaten ecosystems across the Earth.

Part 4:
Be aware of the seriousness of environmental pollution. Have you ever
wondered if the air we breathe is still fresh? Natural disasters and
epidemics continued to strike. Millions of people did not survive. Only
we can change it and solve it. Pollution can be prevented by the thing
we do every day. We can use recycled paper to help save trees. Try to
avoid buying plastic because it is hard to recycle. Instead, bring a
reusable shopping bag with you when you go out or reuse one plastic
bag until it wears out. We should take old clothes to charity shops,
some are sold. To protect the environment, we also must save energy.
Use less energy by switching off lights when rooms are not in use, not
wasting water, and don’t forget to switch off all electric things when
they are not in use. Keeping a clean environment is also to protect
natural resources. First, we need to conserve the old forest and
rainforests, build more safari and natural parks and plant more trees to
make a place to live for wild animals. Second, we need to prohibit
hunters who hunt animals too much out of the law allowance. The
government should also set a limit o the exploitation of resources.
Environmental protection will become simple if we are aware of our
living environment. A clean and green environment will help us lead a
healthy life. We cannot let future generations suffer the consequences
of our irresponsible actions toward the environment. Let’s together
protect the environment. Protecting the environment is also about
protecting yourself.