Air Pollution 1
Running head: AIR POLLUTION
Atmospheric Issue – Air Pollution
Mitigation Strategies and Solutions:
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June 15, 2008
Introduction
Air pollution is the presence in the atmosphere of harmful gases, liquids, or solids. Air pollution is caused by a number of different types of pollutants. The first type, particulate matter, consists of solid and liquid aerosols suspended in the atmosphere. These arise from the burning of coal and from industrial processes. It hastens the erosion of building materials and the corrosion of metals, interferes with the human respiratory system, and brings toxic materials into the body. The small particles cause chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, emphysema and lung cancer.
The second type is sulfur oxides, which come from the burning of coal and industrial processes. Damage to materials, to vegetation, and to the human respiratory system are caused by the acid nature of oxides.
The third type of pollutant is carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odourless, tasteless gas against which humans have no protection. Haemoglobin, which is in the blood, combines with carbon monoxide and carries less oxygen to body tissues causing health and heart effects. Some health problems come from the exhaust fumes leaking into the interior of the automobile. Several hundred Americans die from CO poisoning each year. The fourth type is hydrocarbons, which are chemical, compounds containing only carbon and hydrogen. Hydrocarbons also arise from gasoline-powered vehicles and from industrial processes. Hydrocarbons are released when fuel in the engine burns partially. When hydrocarbons come in contact with sunlight they form ground level ozone. Ground level ozone is a major ingredient in the formation of smog. Ground level ozone is responsible for irritating eyes, damaging lungs, and it complicating respiratory problems.
The last type is nitrogen oxides that come from high-temperature combustion, such as that occurring in motor vehicle engines, electric power plants and other fuel usage. Nitrogen oxide contributes to acidity in precipitation and production of photochemical smog. Nitrogen oxide is also dangerous it causes serious illness and deaths even if the exposure to NO2 is short.
Detailed Description of the Problem
Air pollution is an ecological problem having to do with toxins in the air. Air pollution causes a number of health and ecological problems. The earth is getting hotter, people are getting sick. Every day, the average person inhales about 20,000 litres of air. Every time we breathe, we risk inhaling dangerous chemicals that have found their way into the air. Air pollution includes all contaminants found in the atmosphere. These dangerous substances can be either in the form of gases or particles. Air pollution can be found both outdoors and indoors. It causes health problems like cancer, emphysema, and asthma. It also causes the depletion of the ozone layer which results in global warming and melting of the ice caps. Up until the industrial era, the air was fairly clean. The use of smokestacks and the burning of fuels put many pollutants in the air during this period of time. The increased use of fossil fuels today also builds on this. The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica has grown to its greatest size
If pollution continues as bad as it is, the O-Zone layer will be depleted enough to let ultra violet rays into the Earth causing skin cancer, global warming, and other problems with heat and ultra violet rays. Dr Michael Kurylo, manager of Nasa's Upper Atmosphere Research Program, said: "These observations reinforce concerns about the weakness of Earth's ozone layer." The ozone layer protects our planet from harmful ultraviolet radiation and ozone depletion is believed to contribute to high rates of skin cancer in countries like Australia. It was hoped that the Montreal Protocol in 1987, which restricted the release of man-made pollutants such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) would lead to a recovery of the ozone layer by 2050.
Smog is a mix of many pollutants, chiefly ground-level ozone and particulate matter. Ozone is formed from nitrogen oxides or NOX and volatile organic compounds or VOC. In the summer months, more than half of all people are exposed to ground-level ozone concentrations that are above the current national ambient air quality objective of 82 parts per billion over a one-hour period. In The U.S., the main sources of NOX are transportation, industrial boilers, and power generation from fossil fuels. Natural sources of NOX are considered negligible. The main sources of human-made VOC are fuels and solvents. While natural sources of VOC (primarily from vegetation) are 5.5 times human-made sources, it is important to note that locally, in the most populous smog-affected regions, VOC emissions tend to dominate during ozone episodes. While ozone affects only a few regions, most large cities experience levels of particulate matter that are known to have significant impacts on human health. Ground-level ozone and particulates are linked to a range of adverse health impacts, including respiratory distress, increased emergency hospital visits and hospital admissions, even premature death. Recent studies show that there appears to be no human health "threshold" for either ground-level ozone or fine particulates.
Nonliving and Living Factors that Contribute to or Are Affected by the Problem
The main living contributors causing this problem are the humans making use of forest for different industries. The increasing earth population is also greatly associated to this issue. Increase number of population caused As the population of the world increases, so does the pollution. Many forms of transportation are used worldwide today. As long as these transports run on fuel, they will always emit pollution. The exhaust from cars, planes, and boats have become one of the major polluters of the world. With the use of bikes and other non-fueled transportation, pollution will be reduced.
Car exhaust is depleting the O-Zone layer. By not burning plastics or using aerosol products, we can help prevent pollution. A lot of small things can make one big difference. Together we can make that difference.
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Positive or Negative Human Impacts
Human impacts on forests can be positive The ecosystem can be greatly affected leading to climate changes due to an increase in the atmospheric CO2 concentration.,
Evaluation of Current Sustainability Strategies and Solutions
Currently, there are loads of brilliant sustainability strategies and solutions initiated by government, various organizations, firms, and civic groups
Two of these are the Clean Air Acts and the increased use of solar power over coal power. By creating electric cars, the pollution caused by gasoline powered cars will be lessened. If the pollution is not stopped, it will cause life on earth as we know it to cease.
To overcome the car exhaust problem scientists and car manufacturers are teaming up to build cars that run on air and that are battery powered. Such cars as these are not on the market for they are still being tested, but may soon be the future in pollution prevention.
There have been many attempts at stopping air pollution. The Clean Air Acts were effective for a little while. They made using some polluting substances illegal. This did not work because people simply did not listen. Solar Energy is another attempted solution. This type of energy is good because it is an alternative energy source to coal and other polluting fossil fuels. The problem with solar energy is that it is extremely expensive, but it has been used extensively throughout the world.
One of the more effective ways of eliminating air pollution is the making of electric cars. The use of these electric cars would completely reduce the amount of pollution in the air caused by gasoline powered cars. These cars are run on batteries instead of gasoline or other fuel. Though the use of solar cars seems more realistic, it would also be very expensive and unreliable. The difference primarily between solar and electrical power is the fact that solar cars would be much more expensive to make. The possibilities of making a cost efficient electric car are much more realistic than making a cost efficient solar car.
By making the ecologically safe and inexpensive electric car, the pollution caused by gasoline powered cars would go down. Without making these changes, the globe will continue to heat up at an annual rate of .2 degrees a year, which will result in the melting of the ice caps. If this were to happen, the water would rise 200 feet, flooding most of the earth.
The Earth's ecosystem is a little bit like a web. It is very fragile and depends on all of its strands to maintain stableness. If the air is polluted it disrupts this web creating a total imbalance.
Plan to Reach Sustainability
Before initiation of the plan, prospective good leaders that can help on the program should be appointed and as needed required permission from the local government has to be sought. Funding to start with the program needs to be planned ahead.
Present a brief report by scheduling a presentation inviting the community members as the audience. Researches must be done on the short and long term effects of By not burning plastics or using aerosol products, we can help prevent pollution. A lot of small things can make one big difference. Together we can make that difference.
Because many problems leading to global warming are caused or contributed to by overpopulation, people are beginning to work to reduce family sizes. Family planning services actually help in the fight against global warming. Education is a key method of reducing the greenhouse effect. By teaching people about such things as deforestation, environmental activists hope to prevent the problems that ultimately lead to global warming. Widespread media attention to the global warming problem is also increasing awareness. This is causing both individuals and governments to act more responsibly towards the environment.
Every member of the community must be aware of every little contribution they can do. Such as minimizing use of disposable paper products, recycling, efficient use of firewood, frugal use of any products from forest, and many more.
Required Government, Societal, and Global Support
Factory and business owners have the ability to prevent air pollution. The government should take action, requiring equipment to cut down on hydrocarbons in the atmosphere. The little spent regulating equipment used in factories can go a long way saving billions on health problems and other related issues.
The government should take action passing a restriction on equipment within factories and businesses. The inspection should consist of requiring four different conditions or devices: a flare burner, an ionizing radiation, crosscurrents contacting of the waste gas stream with an acceptor, and change all combustion to natural gas combustion. Like most laws, if one device or condition is not present then the company should be fined a large sum of money. In order for the company to continue staying open the missing devices or conditions should be present within the following two weeks.
Many restrictions are made for businesses and factories, but what is more important than the health of our people. Action should be taken right away. Important advantages to passing extra restrictions on factories and businesses are involved within this action. Not only will the factories realize how much pollution they have caused without these conditions, but also they will prevent hurting the health of others. Each of these devices are exactly what we need in order to stop air pollution.
Reference Page
J. Sunyer (2001). Urban air Pollution and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease:a review,European respiratory journal 17: 1024–1033.,Retrieved Feb 13 2009 from
EPA, (2008, April 1). Air Pollution - Basic Information. Retrieved Feb 13 2009, from United States Environmental Protection Agency Web site: http://www.epa.gov/ebtpages/airairpollution.html