Did you know that the average person inhales up to 20,000 liters of air every single day? Well a larger percentage of that is filled with dust and chemical particles that are harmful to us humans. 154.5 million people in the US, which is about half of the population, live in areas in which it is dangerous to breathe because of the smog and other chemical particles that are floating around in the air. We now live in a world where breathing, something we need in order to survive, can actually end up causing health problems or even death in some cases. According to the American Cancer Society, 15% of lung cancer cases are linked to air pollution and around 3 million people die because of it.
Humans’ activities are the major contribution to air pollution. The Earth is capable of cleaning itself of a certain level of pollution, but man-made pollutant have become too numerous for the Earth’s natural mechanisms to remove (Causes of Air Pollution). We are not only harming the environment, but also ourselves. What is our future going to look like? We are going to be breathing contaminated air. Everyone is going to end up having breathing problems, all because we did not take care of our air. 33% of people in China live in such polluted cities, that the air they breathe is equivalent to smoking two packets of cigarettes every day (18 Facts of Global Air Pollution). One of the contributors is car emissions. They are responsible for around 50 to 90 percent of pollution. Whenever you get in your car and drive somewhere, chemicals are emitted into the air. Combustion emissions cause approximately 13,000 premature deaths every single year.
That isn’t the only cause of air pollution. Aerosols contribute about 30% to air pollution. Some examples would be cleaning products and hair sprays, things in that nature. Just attempting to fix your hair with sprays can have a major effect on air pollution. The Air Resources Board announced that over the past seven months it has settled 25 air quality violation cases involving hairstyling and hairspray products.
Cigarette smokers cause air pollution also. Air pollution emitted by cigarettes is 10 times greater than diesel car exhaust (Cigarette Smoke Produces...). When someone smokes, they are not only harming themselves, but also the people around them and the environment.
All of this pollution can be stopped. If we are the major contribution of it, then we can majorly help stop it. There are several things that we can do. We can drive less. If it’s possible, carpool, ride a bike or walk. It will reduce the amount of car emission in the air. These are many things that you have probably heard of. Don’t smoke, it will eliminate some of the harmful chemical in the air. We can also reduce the amount of cleaning chemicals we use by finding alternatives, like using water to clean instead. These are tiny contributions, but little by little it will help solve the problem of air pollution creating a clean environment for the future.
Work Cited
"18 Facts of Global Air Pollution." 18 Facts of Global Air Pollution. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2013.
“Air Pollution 'kills 13,000 a Year ' Says Study." Nursing Practice and Peer-reviewed Clinical Research for All Nurses. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2013.
"Causes Of Air Pollution." Universe Today RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2013.
"Cigarette Smoke Produces 10 times More Air Pollution than Diesel Car Exhaust." Medical News Today. MediLexicon International, 25 Aug. 2004. Web. 03 Feb. 2013.
Cited: "18 Facts of Global Air Pollution." 18 Facts of Global Air Pollution. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2013. “Air Pollution 'kills 13,000 a Year ' Says Study." Nursing Practice and Peer-reviewed Clinical Research for All Nurses. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2013. "Causes Of Air Pollution." Universe Today RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2013. "Cigarette Smoke Produces 10 times More Air Pollution than Diesel Car Exhaust." Medical News Today. MediLexicon International, 25 Aug. 2004. Web. 03 Feb. 2013.
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