A breath of polluted air.
In the years to come, we would not even be able to say “I'm going outside for some fresh air” because the air would be so awfully polluted and it is (indirectly) everyone's entire fault. Do you know why?
Many of our activities, such as burning fossils fuels for energy (to run the car or bus), are causing air pollution. Polluted air can cause health problems, acid rain, global warming (read all about it on pages 28 and 29!) and a breakdown of the ozone layer.
If Mother Nature was a real person, I bet she would be on her knees begging you to read on about the causes, problems and solutions of air pollution in this article….
What is air pollution?
Air pollution is the act of making the air dirty through the release of poisonous chemicals, particles, gases or other materials.
What causes air pollution?
Some of these human activities can cause and have already contributed to air pollution:
- When fossil fuels (like coal) are burned for energy in power stations, homes and factories, smoke which contains various pollutants are released into the air.
- When fuels (like petrol or diesel) are burned in the engines in motor vehicles (like cars, buses or trucks), exhaust fumes which contain harmful gases are released.
- Some fuels contain lead, and when these are burned, lead particles are released. When inhaled, these lead particles can cause damages to our body (like causing brain damage in young children). This is the reason why leaded fuels were banned in Singapore and in many other countries.
- Controlled burning of forests and agriculture causes haze, smog and can also result in accidents. A case in point is the controlled forest burning near Albany, Oregon 1988. The haze was so bad that it blurred the vision of drivers and resulted in a multi-car accident in which seven people died and 37 were injured.
- Some scientists even believe that the burning of wood and charcoal can release large amounts of soot into the air. Uh-oh, there goes our barbeques…
- Farming and agricultural activities (like crop waste burning) release chemicals and dust, resulting in air pollution .
- The harmful fumes from hair spray s, paint , varnish and aerosol sprays also contribute to air pollution .
- The disposal of waste materials by burying can produce methane, a greenhouse gas that can cause global warming.
- The military use of nuclear weapons and toxic gases in wars can pollute the air . So far, nuclear weapons have only been used during World War II, when USA dropped nuclear weapons on two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
- When people smoke cigarettes, they are also contributing to air pollution.
However, scientists have also found that Man should not be blamed entirely because the following natural occurrences can contribute to air pollution too :
• When volcanoes erupt, several harmful substances like sulfur , chlorine and ash particles are released.
• Natural wildfires emit smoke and carbon monoxide .
• Dust storms in dry, desert-like areas.
• Plants and trees also emit harmful substances which pollute the air.
• Farm animals emit methane whenever they " break wind” .
What are the effects of air pollution?
Sometimes you can smell polluted air, for instance, when smokers blew the smoke from their cigarettes towards you.
Sometimes, you can see polluted air, for instance, the haze that we experience ever so often. The haze problem is a result of forest fires in our neighboring countries. When the wind blows in the direction of our country, it brings the polluted air to us. Do you remember having difficulty in breathing when we were hit by the haze recently? Or that Physical Education was cancelled?
Sometimes you cannot see that the air is polluted because it is not that obvious –and that is the dangerous part, don't you think?
An effect of air pollution is acid rain. Acid rain occurs when too many harmful substances are present in the air. Whenever it rains, the rainwater will dissolve these harmful substances to form a weak acid, resulting in acid rain. Acid rain can kill living forest plants and aquatic creatures, and cause buildings and historical monuments to be destroyed.
Another effect of air pollution is global warming (which you can read in greater detail on pages 28 and 29) When the air is polluted, the sun's heat can get trapped in the atmosphere more easily and our planet will eventually become so much warmer.
Yet another effect of air pollution is ozone layer depletion, yes, the “holes” in our ozone layer. Air pollution thins out the ozone layer, and as a result, people are more prone to skin cancers, plant growth is affected, there is lesser phytoplankton (important source of food for all marine animals) and many more other problems.
So you see, air pollution has terrible effects on all living things, and that includes you and I. I hope you are ready to fight air pollution because I know I am! Here are ways that you can help to reduce air pollution:
- Reduce your electricity usage.
- Reduce, reuse and recycle!