causes and solutions for air pollution

FOUNDATION STUDIES DEPARTMENT Air pollution in the world ABSTRACT Air pollution has been seriously noticed during the present time This paper, based on secondary research, gives necessary information on air pollution In particular, three aspects are mentioned, including some causes of air pollution, its effects to health of human, and several solutions to this problem The findings of the research indicate that if humans are aware of the causes and effects of pollution, the air will be protected from contamination Therefore, some suggestions, consisting of measures to not only individuals but also collectives have been given to control air pollution All in all, the paper draws the conclusion that air protection is the responsibility of both the government and individuals They should cooperate to create fresh atmosphere TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT i TABLE OF CONTENTS .ii Introduction Discussion of findings 2.1 What are effects of air pollution? 2.2 Why is the air polluted? 2.3 How should human to reduce air pollution? 3 Conclusion REFERENCES .5 Introduction Business Dictionary defines air pollution as “the condition in which air is contaminated by foreign substances, or the substances themselves” As reported in an article about the great “Smog disaster” in London (1952), there were four thousand people who died in a few days due to the high concentrations of air pollution It is estimated that there were 6.5 million deaths worldwide from air pollution – related diseases in 2012 (WHO data) The figure accounted for 11.6% of all global deaths – more than the number of people killed by HIV/AIDS According to a study, a person breathes 20.000 liters of air each day This means the more polluted the air is, the more we breathe into our lungs dangerous chemicals Dr Chris Murray, the director of IHME (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation) said that: “Of all the different risk factors for premature deaths, this is one area, the air we breathe, over which individuals have little control Policy makers in health and environment agencies, as well as leaders in various industries, are facing growing demands - and expectations - to address this problem” Thus, this paper, with the purpose to help human reduce air pollution will mention to some causes and effects of air pollution and suggest several solutions to this problem Discussion of findings 2.1 What are effects of air pollution? According to Business Dictionary, air pollution includes gaseous, liquid, or solid substances When they interact in a sufficient time and under certain conditions, it may tend to interfere with health of human (Business Dictionary) The effects of air pollution are alarming It can result in a lot of serious diseases to human Initially, poor air quality might be responsible for reducing children’s IQs, affecting their ability to learn and access information The new report from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health (cited in Wilson, 2015), which is referred to as a “first - of - its - kind - study” , said that children born to mothers experiencing economic hardship who were exposed to high levels of urban air pollution suffered from reduced IQs, imposing an obvious hardship beginning at birth According to a report published in the medical journal Neurotoxicology and Teratology (cited in Wilson, 2015), children who were less exposed to air pollution scored much higher on IQ tests at – year – old compared with children born to poorer families who were exposed to air pollution As stated by Patrick Breysse (cited in Evans, 2009) – an environmental health specialist at Johns Hopkins’ School of Public Health, air quality might be a part of the main reasons for why wealthier children tend to better at school than children from poorer neighborhoods, as they might live in more polluted areas In addition, air pollution can cause many diseases related to heart and lung According to a study in the March 8th issue of JAMA (cited in Target, 2006), being exposed to air pollution increases the risk for hospital admission for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases of a person A research study from Daily Mail (cited in Barker, 2016) illustrated that: Those in the group with the highest exposure levels were 34 percent more likely to die with lung cancer than people who lived more than three miles away from the sites, the researchers found And people in that group were 30 per cent more likely to die from other respiratory diseases They were also per cent more likely to receive hospital treatment for all respiratory diseases, including per cent for asthma Another concerning disease resulting from air pollution is dementia, especially for women It has been claimed (‘Particulate air pollutants, APOE alleles and their contributions to cognitive impairment in older women and to amyloidogenesis in experimental models’, Translational Psychiatry, 2017) that air pollution can promote brain aging and contribute to the progression of dementia, and women with a specific gene variant are at greater risk than others As reported by a study from researchers at the University of Southern California (Vuong, 2017), older women who lived in areas where the air were polluted had 81% greater chance of general cognitive decline and 92% more likely to develop dementia 2.2 Why is the air polluted? Although our health becomes worse and worse as a result of air pollution, people have not had a clear awareness of the causes of air pollution Whereas some reasons why the air is polluted are entirely natural – being the result of sudden changes in temperature, seasonal changes, or regular cycles, others are the result of human impact In the first place, natural forms of air pollution are those resulting from naturally – occurring phenomena Due to a lack of precipitation in large areas of open land having little to no vegetation, wind can create dust storms (Williams, 2016) He still said that when scattered into regions having natural vegetation, particulate matter can harm to the atmosphere In addition, the smoke and carbon monoxide from wildfires and forest fires contribute to carbon levels in the atmosphere, which allows the development of air pollution (Williams, 2016) As stated by Williams (2016), volcanic eruptions are one of the most major sources of natural air pollution He also claimed that a large amount of sulfur, chlorine, and ash products can be released into the air and dispersed over large areas due to an eruption Besides naturally – occurring phenomena, however, human activities are the greatest contributing to air pollution According to Williams (2016), a major cause of air pollution is the process of burning fossil fuels namely coal, petroleum, charcoal, and others He said it creates unburnt organic matter, which might be released into the atmosphere, then causing air pollution A study conducted by the UCS (‘Car Emissions and Global Warming’) showed that transportation made up more than half of the carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, and almost a quarter of the hydrocarbon emitted into the air in the US Moreover, one of the most hazardous gases in the atmosphere is ammonia – a very common product from agriculture ( Rinkesh, 2000) He declared that the regular use of insecticides, pesticides and fertilizers in agricultural activities also leads to air pollution That manufacturing industries release a large amount of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, organic compounds, and chemical substances makes the quality of air worse (Rinkesh, 2000) As stated by him, you can find manufacturing industries at every corner of the earth Thus, there is no area that has not been affected by it In fact, it is estimated that there are 4,3 million people dying every year, which results from the exposure to household air pollution (WHO) According to the EPA, air pollution outside is often two or five times less harmful than it is indoor A lot of people cook and heat their homes by using solid fuels such as coal, wood, charcoal, dung, and crop wastes on open fires or traditional stoves, which create a toxic gas polluting the air 2.3 How should human to reduce air pollution? Air pollution is a severe problem to everyone on earth Correspondingly, not only the government but also individuals in the world need to take some measures to help to control air pollution First and foremost, for government, they should promulgate national and state policies which can be used to reduce air pollution A fantastic measure is always offered by legislation and regulations for tackling the air pollution A huge number of cities and countries that were once heavily polluted have substantially attained fresh air mainly due to laws against air pollution For instances, in England, the government enforced its Clean Air Act of 1956 placing limits on burning coal and requiring industries to build higher smokestacks after the 1952 smog tragedy that deprived thousands of human lives in London (Madann n.d) Since the enactment of its, only 44% of smokestacks emitting sulfur oxides have installed air scrubbers, whereas 37% of smokestacks producing nitrogen oxides have begun to use air scrubbers (Epstein, 2011) He also stated that according to the EPA, the lives of 17,000 people annually in the United States would be protected from respiratory related deaths by simply installing scrubbers In addition, a practical solution to air pollution is opting for alternative or renewable energy sources namely wind energy, geothermal energy, solar energy, and hydro – power to produce power instead of relying on fossil fuels or coal energy (Madann n.d) Converting to sources such as solar, wind, and geothermal will create electricity without carbon emissions, which helps to reduce air pollution Furthermore, awareness creation is one of the most important factor to consider because it will make people realize and understand the causes and effects of air pollution If individuals are aware of these, they should encourage family, friends, or colleagues to use more and more public modes of transportation such as bus, train or bike when going to school or going to work (Madann n.d) Besides, switch off fans and lights when you are going out Moreover, people should try to understand the concept of reduce, reuse, and recycle to control air pollution (Rinkesh, 2000) Conclusion The above analysis has shown that there are many things that human to cause air pollution but there are also a lot of ways that people can prevent it In the long run, it can be said that it is high time the action was taken to protect the atmosphere because it is so significant for all living beings We can not imagine how wonderful life is when human accomplish the target REFERENCES Business Dictionary, http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/air-pollution.html Barker, D 2016, Why living near a landfill can give you lung cancer, viewed 15 January 2017, http://www.naturalnews.com/054253_landfills_lung_cancer_air_pollution.html Cars and global warming, Union of Concerned Scientists, viewed February 2017, http://www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/car-emissions-and-global-warming# Evans, K 2009, Air Pollution Linked to Low IQ in Children, viewed January 2017, http://www.naturalnews.com/026683_pollution_air_IQ.html Evans, K 2010, Indoor Air Pollution: Look at the Causes and Solutions, viewed February 2017, http://www.naturalnews.com/028018_indoor_air_pollution.html Madann, S n.d, Brilliant Solutions to Air Pollution, viewed February 2017, http://www.eartheclipse.com/pollution/brilliant-solutions-to-air-pollution.html Particulate air pollutants, APOE alleles and their contributions to cognitive impairment in older women and to amyloidogenesis in experimental models, Translational Psychiatry, 2017, viewed February 2017, http://www.nature.com/tp/journal/v7/n1/full/tp2016280a.html Rinkess, 2000, What is Air Pollution?, viewed February 2017, http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-effects-solutions-of-air-pollution.php Target, N 2006, Fine Particle Air Pollution Associated With Respiratory and Cardiovascular Diseases (press release), viewed 10 January 2017, http://www.naturalnews.com/019942_cardiovascular_air_pollution_risk.html Vuong, Z 2017, Air pollution may lead to dementia in older women, viewed 16 January 2017, https://news.usc.edu/115654/air-pollution-may-lead-to-dementia-in-older-women/ Williams, M 2016, What causes air pollution?, viewed February 2017, http://www.universetoday.com/81977/causes-of-air-pollution/ Wilson, J 2015, Why cities make people stupid: Air pollution significantly reduces children's IQ, study finds, viewed January 2017, http://www.naturalnews.com/049903_air_pollution_city_life_intelligence.html ... human reduce air pollution will mention to some causes and effects of air pollution and suggest several solutions to this problem Discussion of findings 2.1 What are effects of air pollution? According... some causes of air pollution, its effects to health of human, and several solutions to this problem The findings of the research indicate that if humans are aware of the causes and effects of pollution, ... some measures to help to control air pollution First and foremost, for government, they should promulgate national and state policies which can be used to reduce air pollution A fantastic measure