Why is Air Pollution a Danger to Our Environment?

Although we all are familiar with air pollution, and know it is a very real problem that affects our environment and all of us, most of us tend to ignore it as if it does not exist. This is particularly easy for people who live in rural areas and do not see on a daily basis its extent: they do not see smog, factories, or millions of cars on the road polluting our air.

That being said, no matter how hard we may subconsciously desire to, there are times where we cannot ignore this problem. For example, when we smell the exhaust of cars when standing next to a road, or when we see factories pumping smoke high into the sky, it is hard not to think of the damage that is being constantly created.

What is air pollution? Air pollution consists of various types of chemicals and gases being passed into our atmosphere. The main cause of this unwanted pollution is vehicles. Second to to that are industrial factories that release dirty and dangerous fumes into the atmosphere.

Why is air pollution dangerous?

1. Health reasons: it has been scientifically shown that on many occasions that illnesses such as strokes, heart issues, and breathing problems are associated with air pollution.

2. Global warming: air pollution is responsible for global warming. This phenomena leads to the gradual but persistent increase of the temperature of our planet. It has already started affecting entire ecosystems, and unless it is stopped, it will melt the polar ice caps which will raise sea levels. This will cause flooding in coastal cities such as New York and London.

3. Ozone layer: air pollution causes the ozone layer to shrink, thus, reducing its ability to shield us from ultraviolet radiation. This not only causes skin cancer, but also damages wildlife and plants.

4. Acid rain: the combination of rain and air pollution (specifically, certain chemicals) can cause acid rain. Acid rain has a great impact on plants, animals and fish, and also gets absorbed into soil, making it toxic to numerous plants and animals.

How can we fight air pollution?

1. Hybrid vehicles: by using hybrid vehicles, we significantly reduce the air pollution which our vehicles cause, since this type of vehicle produces about a fourth of the pollution of an average vehicle. If everyone started using hybrid vehicles, this would have a great impact on global air pollution!

2. Using renewable energy sources such as wind power, solar power, hydroelectric power and geothermal power can significantly decrease air pollution. Unfortunately, our main source of energy, fossil fuels, has a very negative impact on air pollution.

Since air pollution only seems to be getting worse, the doomsday scenario where we reach a point in which we have damaged our environment irrevocably appears to be more and more likely. This is why it is crucial that all of us try and change our lifestyles in any way possible that is known to decrease air pollution. This is not just "the environment's" problem, but our problem and our descendants problem's as well.

In this author's opinion, the only way to truly solve this problem is through education. Most people are aware of the dangers of air pollution and the severe repercussions these hold, and yet many ignore them. Perhaps by educating our children - from birth - to live a green and environmentally friendly lifestyle, and by teaching them of the folly of our mistakes, there may still be hope for our planet - and ourselves.

About the Author

Tyler Hodger has been studying and practicing the utilization of renewable energy sources for many years. In this article he discussed the effect of air pollution on our environment and its dangers. To read more of his articles that describe green and environmentally friendly issues, visit his website: Green Planet and Me.