Air Pollution Affects on the Environment - Admission/Application Essay Example

Air Pollution Affects on the Environment The alarms regarding air pollution and its affect on the environment have been sounded since the 1970’s yet few have listened, even to this day. Not once during the four and one-half hours of recent presidential debates was possibly the world’s most serious issue discussed. Television ads remind us the “the clock is ticking America” and “time to tell the EPA to stop their heavy-handed tactics against the clean coal industry.” Of course there is no such thing as “clean coal.” The coal industry simply put two words together and expects the public to believe it and they likely do. Pollution from that “clean coal” is dumping tons on carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which is a direct health hazard, causing respiratory problems, and is also adding to the greenhouse effect, the consequences of which are already being experienced. We are polluting the very air we breathe and making our planet uninhabitable yet we are unconcerned, certainly our political leaders seem so. However, we should all be terrified about the ill effects that air pollution has on ourselves and our environment. Emissions from industrial processes, automobiles and coal-fired electricity generating power plants is and has been causing a serious air pollution problem. During the 1800’s as the Industrial Revolution was expanding, large cities such as London and New York were experiencing a new phenomenon call “smog,” a contraction of the words smoke and fog which result in the slow, agonizing deaths of many people. As factories multiplied air pollution became an increasingly significant issue yet no one seemed to be overly alarmed and no governmental action regarding regulations occurred until 1948 when 20 people died of asphyxiation and 7,000 others became critically ill in Donora, Pa. due to the stiflingly heavy air pollution in that town. This prompted the Federal government to enact air pollution regulations in subsequent years. Today, Donora is home to a smog museum which chronicles the impact of air pollution on that and other towns. (“Brief,” 2009). Smog is the most obvious and recognizable form of air pollution as it hangs like a low-lying brown cloud over cities. However, there are several types of pollution that contribute to climate change and some not as some visible. Air pollution describes any substance introduced into the atmosphere that causes harmful effects on the environment and living organisms. (“Air Pollution.”) The atmosphere surrounding the Earth is made up of naturally occurring gases such as nitrogen, oxygen and argon which allow some of the sun’s heat to escape but a perfectly balanced amount of heat to stay blanketing the Earth and keeping it at a relatively stable temperature. This is the “greenhouse effect.” Air pollution caused by human waste products is overloading this delicate balance of atmospheric gases. As a consequence, more of the sun’s heat is becoming trapped causing a gradual warming trend or “global warming.” Climatologists warn that global warming will cause significant, negative and long-lasting effects on water resources, human health, wildlife, agriculture, forests, and coastal areas.” (“Environmental Effects.”) Carbon dioxide is the most prevalent and problematic of the greenhouse gasses causing the Earth to warm and climate to change. Although plants ingest carbon dioxide naturally while people and animals emit the gas as they breathe out, the gas is generally considered an air pollutant when associated the burning of fossil fuels for industry and transportation. “In the past 150 years, such activities have pumped enough carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to raise its levels higher than they have been for hundreds of thousands of years.” (“Air Pollution.”) Sulfur dioxide, a major element of smog, is another polluting gas associated with altering the Earth’s climate. Sulfur dioxide and other similar chemicals are known principally due to their association with acid rain. But when released into the air these pollutants reflect light thereby cooling the Earth. Volcanic eruptions discharge enormous amounts of sulfur dioxide causing the Earth to cool. Before mankind became industrialized, Volcanoes were the main cause of sulfur dioxide in the atmospheric but now humans are. Other significant types of greenhouse gases include chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were used in household aerosol propellant products and refrigerants until they were banned by the government due to their damaging effect on ozone layer and methane which cannot be banned because it comes from natural sources such as livestock and swampland. (“Air Pollution.”) Global warming is not the only environmental issue caused by air pollution. When sulfur and nitrogen oxides are released into the atmosphere as a result of burning fossil fuels they become embedded in the clouds then fall back to Earth in the form of snow, rain or fog. This is commonly known as “acid rain” Air pollution also affects water. “Air emissions of nitrogen oxides from power plants, cars, trucks, and other sources contribute to the amount of nitrogen entering aquatic ecosystems.” (“Environmental Effects.”) This phenomenon is called eutrophication which encourages blooms of algae that can cause massive fish and water plant kills. The loss of fish and plants affects the animals that depend on them for survival. Though eutrophication, like carbon dioxide, is a natural occurring process, human activities greatly hasten eutrophication by polluting the air. (“Environmental Effects.”) The Earth’s ozone is located in a layer of the atmosphere called the stratosphere approximately 10 to 30 miles above its surface. The ozone serves as a protective shield against the harmful ultraviolet radiation rays emanating from the sun. In the news since the 1970’s due to concerns by scientists, the ozone layer has become increasingly depleted. “The ozone hole in the region of the South Pole, which has appeared each year during the Antarctic winter (our summer), often is bigger than the continental United States.” (“Protecting, 2012). More than 190 countries, including the U.S. agreed to eliminate ozone destroying chemicals in the 1980’s but it will be many decades before this protective stratospheric layer begins to fully heal because the air pollutants will stubbornly persist for man years, much the same as other air and water poisons. 20 years after the international agreement, in 2006, the ozone layer was a large as it’s ever been. (“Protecting, 2012). The most daunting consequence of air pollution, even more so than directly affecting respiratory function, is global climate change. The effects are already being seen worldwide as drought, storms and floods worsen while sea levels rise. According to scientists most regions will continue to become warmer particularly during winter and at night. Food will be increasingly in short supply thereby increasing the mortality rate. Sea levels will rise for centuries to come submerging coastal areas and major cities worldwide. Millions will be displaced forcing mass migrations which will put further strains on food and other resources while spreading disease. (Kopp, et al., 2009) Although the effects of climate change cannot be reversed they can be limited if action is taken soon and on a global scale. Given the direct association between air pollution and climate the National Academy of Sciences recommended that an integrated approach be employed. Many strategies are being discussed and implemented such as mandating higher fuel efficiency standards for automobiles and by using wind and solar power instead of coal for electric generation. Cap and trade policies have worked well in European nations to reduce carbon output as have raising taxes on gasoline. “These kinds of approaches are ‘win-win,’ providing improvements to air quality while also reducing the adverse risks and impacts associated with climate change.” (“Climate,” 2010). Several nations have resolved to reduce air pollution levels but China, Russia, India and the U.S., the world’s biggest polluters, have not taken serious steps to help alleviate this most serious problem. Individuals can help reduce air pollution by driving and flying less, using solar panels and recycling waste products. Air pollution; we see it, breathe it and talk about it but we in the U.S. have not done our share to curb the output. The Clean Air Act of 1990 was a start but its regulatory power is controlled by whichever political party occupies the White House. The coal industry is spending millions on ads whining about the oppressive EPA and how air quality regulations are damaging the economy. They implore the viewer to send representatives to congress who will stand against, what, the air we breathe? Not once was pollution or global climate change mentioned during the presidential debates. The science on climate change is unambiguous, there is no debate to be had only action to be taken but too many of the U.S. population along with people and leaders of other top polluting nations care more for fast money than a sustainable environment. We hear a lot of talk about the National Debt and how we should not leave this problem to our children but what about the Earth? We should leave them a healthy environment as well as a healthy economy but the economy is certain to collapse if the affects of climate change are not quickly addressed. . References “A Brief History of Pollution.” (December 11, 2009). National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Retrieved from http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_pollution/02history.html “Air Pollution.” National Geographic. Retrieved from http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/pollution-overview/ “Climate and Air Quality.” (2010). Environmental Protection Agency Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/airtrends/2010/report/climatechange.pdf Kopp, Robert E.Frederik J. Simons, et al. (2009). “Probabilistic Assessment of Sea Level During the Last Interglacial Stage.” Nature 462: 863-68 “Protecting the Stratospheric Ozone Layer” (March 06, 2012). Environmental Protection Agency Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/air/peg/stratozone.html “Environmental Effects of Air Pollution.” Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. Retrieved from http://www.mass.gov/dep/air/aq/env_effects.htm Read More