What do you think of when you think of pollution?
What comes to mind?
Is it litter laying dormant on roadways, massive piles of trash, or a veil of plastic overlaid upon our vast ocean?
Pollution could be defined as harmful materials, known as pollutants, introduced to the environment. Whatever visual you had in mind, the fact remains the same; pollution degenerates the quality of water, land, and air. Spoiling our environment is not only bad for the environment itself, but it’s also detrimental to the health of the people living in it. Take this example, the World Health Organization states on their website,
“Nine out of ten people now breathe polluted air, which kills 7 million people every year.”
Now, what is air pollution? Air pollution can be invisible, and visible, from natural disasters, or from human activity. Air pollution is visible in that you view dark smoke pouring out of a factories or truck’s exhaust pipe, however, visible air pollution is not as abundant as invisible. Polluted air is hazardous, it can be the cause of burning eyes, difficulty breathing, and it heightens one’s chance of lung cancer. The World Health Organization continues to say,
“One third of deaths from stroke, lung cancer and heart disease are due to air pollution. This is having an equivalent effect to that of smoking tobacco.”
In addition, despite air pollution from natural causes, the majority of air pollution isn’t natural. This pollution comes from burning fossil fuels, such as oil, coal, and natural gas. Carbon monoxide, an odorless, colorless gas, is produced when gasoline is burned to fuel trucks and cars. In high concentrations, this gas is harmful. When cities have traffic, these are one of the instances where carbon monoxide is produced. When one is exposed to carbon monoxide, it is harmful in that it precludes oxygen from getting to one’s organs as well as tissues. When carbon monoxide levels are at its highest, it could even result in death. From just exposure to this gas, one might undergo flu-like symptoms (dizziness, headaches, fatigue, etc.), chest pains (present in people with heart disease), incoordination, impaired vision (prominent in higher concentrations), etc.
Continuing on the discourse of factories and cars, they generate well over one pollutant, to enumerate a few, they produce sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and hydrocarbons. When these pollutants are exposed to the sun, they react to create smog (a haze or fog of air pollution), which can get so thick it masks the sun from view (ex. Linfen, China). Can you envision being limited as to when you could go outside, or even when you could participate in vigorous physical activity? Hong Kong is an example of cities suffering from air pollution, as there are even occurrences when the government must advise residents to not leave to the outside.
Further representing data, despite there being no visible smog, there is still considerably high air pollution in cities as well as villages. These places are seeing toxic air pollutants exceeding the typical annual recommended values by WHO’s guidelines. Microscopic pollutants, which are ubiquitous, can be so miniscule they pass our body’s defense, wreaking havoc on respiratory or circulatory systems, harming our heart, lungs, and even the brain. On another subject, did you know that each year 543,000 kids under five years old pass away as a result of a respiratory disease tied to air pollution? Childhood cancers can also be linked to air pollution.
You may be contemplating ways to reduce air pollution, especially considering the effects aren’t limited to the ones already mentioned. One way is to keep your car’s tires properly inflated. When not, the car uses up more fuel. Keeping them inflated mitigates your effect on the environment. Another idea is to plant a garden. A garden’s plants could help reduce junk within the atmosphere. Lastly, although there are many other ways, confirm you are shutting off lights when they are not in use, as, the more energy you are wasting, the more you can further pollute the air.
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