Air Pollution Essay

Research shows that every year 2.4 to 4.6 million people die from causes directly related to air pollution. Many of these fatalities are linked to indoor air pollution as well. Air pollution is expanding at such a fast pace that there are more deaths per year linked to air pollution than to automobile accidents. As the world continues to increase in the amount of people, air pollution will continue to rise as well. With an all time high, seven million deaths in 2012, countries such as China, and India accounted for approximately thirty percent of those deaths. To go along with facts such as those, China has been ranked the worst, in terms of populations directly affected by poor air quality.

What is air pollution? Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particles, biological materials, or other harmful materials into the Earth's atmosphere, possibly causing disease, death to humans, damage to other living organisms such as food crops, or the natural or built environment. Some air pollutants that are poisonous are extremely dangerous when inhaled. Air pollution takes place when our air accommodates gases, dust, fumes or odor in harmful amounts. That is, amounts which could be damaging to the health or well being of humans and animals, causing damage to plants and or materials. Substances that cause air pollution are called pollutants. Pollutants that are pumped into our atmosphere directly, pollute our air. These are called primary pollutants, which consist of carbon monoxide from car exhausts and sulfur dioxide from the combustion of coal. Examples of secondary pollutants would be ozone, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide, when combined cause acid rain. Smog, a more formerly known from of pollution qualifies as a primary,...

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..., as does walking or riding your bike for smaller errands. Additionally, this can save on average $1,000 per year. (When you avoid driving alone, one day a week for a year, you will save hundreds of dollars, not to mention wear and tear on your car). As for fuel economy, avoid accelerating quickly, braking hard, or driving at high speeds. Reducing weight from your vehicle will also impact your fuel economy. In addition, technology has been created to allow cars to run cleaner and use less gas, as well as the invention of the electric and solar powered car. The challenge now is to make this process more affordable for the average family. Finally, planting a tree will help to absorb approximately one ton of carbon dioxide during its life time. Trees, and other plants absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen, which is why in saving our planet its called “Going Green”.