Air Pollution: Causes and Negative Effect

Introduction
Air Pollution can be found everywhere around the world. I will be talking about the deadly air pollution.
Two different kinds of pollution are water and air. The strange thing is that the dangerous pollution we
breathe, or drink can come from anywhere and from many different states. Pollution can and do
cause harm to our environment. When smoke comes from factories, vehicles, or volcanoes that
smoke has particles that can and does pollute the air. Pollution is also causing harm to our
atmosphere. Further research has been done and must continue to be done to save our environment.

Thesis Statement
Pollution is bad for the environment and something must be done to save our environment. It can
destroy our water, land, air, etc.

Air pollution is caused by the burning of coal, oil, and natural gases. Air pollution can come from fuel
burning in factories, generating electricity, and burning of trash. It can cause harm to our bodies,
mainly the lungs and the respiratory system. There are a lot of a virus and diseases that are airborne.
Air pollution can also harm our plants and wildlife. Motor vehicles and big manufacturing companies
are the main sources of air pollution. Soot, sulfur, lead, automobile exhaust and factory fumes are
some of the pollutants that are poisoning the environment. Smog can cause one to have shortness of
breath, dizziness, watery eyes, and runny noses. Some of the natural pollutants are dust, smoke from
forest fires, salt particles, gases, decaying organisms, and pollen.

Automobiles exhaust is carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides. The less gasoline we
burn, the better our environment will be. The catalytic converter is a device that helps control
automobiles and trucks’ pollution. This will reduce air pollution and the harmful effects on our climate
change. The design on some gasoline engine has changed to help cut down on air pollution. Some
government requires that cars must meet a certain pollution standard that helps reduce the harmful
gases that come from the auto exhaust. It is the lead that is in the gas that causes harm to people
and our environment. The newer car is designed to use low lead- or lead-free gasoline. The invention
of electric cars is one way to help cut down on air pollution.

Pollution is real. Air pollution comes from all the different manufacturers and companies that can
cause harm when we breathe it in. Trash and waste can and do harm our oceans and lakes and can
kill our sea creatures and weaken our environment even more. Using fuel like gas, electricity, electric
cars, solar power, etc. will help cut down on pollution. Pollution can cause harm to our environment in
so many ways. It can make our water not safe to drink. It can change our land. It can destroy our
Ozone layer that protects from ultraviolet radiation. Globalization pollution can affect our environment
access to safe water, depletion of fisheries, and can cause land degradation. We all can take part in
helping stop pollution. Some examples are, using smokeless fuel as a way of cutting down on air
pollution. Smog and soot are the most prevalent types of air pollution. When smog buildup to a
dangerous amount it can cause sickness or death. Most large cities have heavy smog and soot
pollution. When the smog exceeds a certain level, parents are warned to keep their children inside. In
1952 a smog cloud chocked London, England for 6 days, causing 4000 death.

We need oxygen to live. Air pollution doesn’t stop at the border or when it reaches another state. Air
pollution travel wherever the wind takes it. Smog and pollutants can cause our air to be polluted and
we might not get the amount of fresh air we need. Breathing in polluted air can mess with the
respiratory system causing respiratory diseases such as asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis,
pneumonia, and lung cancer. In some cities, it is illegal to burn leaves and trash. Burning this can
pollute the air and can cause shortness of breath and running eyes. Older people with other health
issues such as heart and lung disease suffer the most from air pollution. Pollutants not only cause
harm to humans the fumes in the air can eat away at building made of stone. It can cause holes in
glass, kill lawns, trees, and rot wood.

In the 1980’s it was said that the air inside homes and office building were more polluted than the air
outside. Household chemicals, cleaning products, hair sprays, insecticides, paint supplies, are some
of the products that help aid the polluted air inside homes. The Chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs) that’s from
air conditions and refrigeration are also causing damage to our ozone layer. Carbon oxides are the
largest group of pollutants. Carbon monoxide is a poisonous odorless gas that comes from car
engines, furnaces, and space heaters. These air pollutants can kill within the home or in a close
environment. We use detectors to detect this odorless gas and to save lives.

According to EDF (Environmental Defense Fund) ' The WHO (World Health Organization) estimates
that 2 billion children live in areas where outdoor air pollution exceeds international limits and 300
million children live in areas where outdoor air pollution exceeds 6 times international limits.' It also
stated that air pollution is responsible for 6.4 million deaths per year and that it is one of the world's
largest killers. In a 2018 report, 35.1 million people in the U.S. suffer from pollution-related breathing
disorders. On the top 5 most polluting countries in the world, the U.S. ranked second on the list. The
EPA set up the standard for six common air pollutants which are referred to as “criteria pollutants.”
(EPA, 2018). They are carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulate matter, and sulfur
dioxide.

Thanks to the Clean Air Act (1970) progress has been made over the last 40 years to improve the
quality of our air. There has been a 50% decline in emissions since 1990. “The Clean Air Act requires
EPA to set national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for specific pollutants to safeguard human
and the environment.” (EPA, 2018). Several laws have been passed to help control air pollution. The
Clean Air Act of 1990 addressed the pollution that came from the emission of automobile and other
industries. In 1997 they proposed another act for the ozone level and particulate matter. “The Clean
Air Act was first enacted in 1955, with major revisions in 1970, 1977, and 1990.” (Shouse, K., &
Lattanzio, R. 2003, 2020). The main focus was to set health-based standards for ambient air quality
and to set deadlines for achievement of those standards.
Conclusion
Pollution is bad for the environment and something must be done to save our environment. It can
destroy our water, land, air, etc. If more people would recycle it would cut down on pollution and
waste that ends up destroying our land and environment. We all can take part in helping stop
pollution. Some ways of cutting down on using our nonrenewable resources are using smokeless fuel,
solar power, electric automobiles, etc. Cars give off more than 80 percent of carbon monoxide, 40
percent of nitrogen oxides causing great harm to our environment. Vehicles sitting at a traffic light
continue to give off pollution. Electric automobiles will truly help our environment, but they can be very
expensive. Battery-electric cars prices start around $30,000 to $40,000 with the battery alone costing
around $7,500.

Reference
1. Lee, Sangyoul; Bi, Xiang. PLoS ONE. 11/7/2019, Vol. 14 Issue 11, p1-18. 18p. DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0224868.
2. EveryCRSReport.com Clean Air Act: A Summary of the Act and Its Major
Requirements https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL30853.html
3. Environmental Defense Fund (2020) Health Impact of Air
Pollution https://www.edf.org/health/health-impacts-air-pollution
4. Our Nation’s Air https://gispub.epa.gov/air/trendsreport/2019/#highlights
5. Pollution : Causes, Effects and Control, edited by R. M. Harrison, Royal Society of Chemistry,
2001. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.proxy-
library.ashford.edu/lib/ashford-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1186016.
6. Something in the Air: Pollution and the Demand for Health Insurance Full Text Available Chang,
Tom Y.; Huang, Wei; Wang, Yongxiang; Review of Economic Studies, December 2018, v. 85,
iss. 3, pp. 1609-34

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