INTRODUCTION
One of the most heated debates of the modern era revolves around environmental issues and how best to repair current damages and prevent future damage. Unfortunately this is something of a controversial topic because there are some that heavily support the environment and the protection of it and there are others that actually do not believe that environmental issues are serious at all. That being said addressing a problem that some people will not admit exists is incredibly difficult. This is the case with the modern issues with air pollution.
DISUCUSSION
The air becomes polluted when harmful poisons and toxic gases are released into the air. Air pollution poses a number of different risk factors. When people breathe polluted air on a regular basis can result in serious health problems. These pollutants can cause health problems with the throat and airway. However, these pollutants can also contribute to heart diseases, like coronary artery diseases and congestive heart failure. The bulk of illnesses associated with air pollution is related to respiratory issues, like asthma, COPD and emphysema (Sierra-Vargas & Teran, 2012) When pollutants continue to be released into the air it can cause damage to the atmosphere, particularly the ozone layer. When holes in the ozone layer appear they allow powerful ultraviolent rays to reach the Earth and the life upon it. There has been research to verify that the presence of more and more ultraviolet radiation has contributed to the development of skin cancer (Environmental Protection Agency, 2017).
The health problems caused by air pollution are not a small phenomenon; it is global. However, the danger of air pollution can have even more negative implications on a worldwide scale. Most of the pollutants released into the air are categorized as chlorofluorocarbons, which are primarily released via the burning of fossil fuels. Cole, oil and gasoline become a gas that gets trapped against the atmosphere, this causes the overall temperature of the planet to increase (Sierra-Vargas & Teran, 2012). This process is called global warming. If global warming goes unchecked those temperatures will continue to rise and the polar ice caps will melt. It will get to a point where the climates, weather and whole ecosystems will change permanently, which is called climate change (Environmental Protection Agency, 2017). If this happens then those plants and animals designed to survive in their original environment may not be able to adapt to the new environment and it will lead to mass extinctions on an unprecedented scale.
If air pollution is such an extreme contributor to so many negative outcomes then what can be done to address the problem? Public policies like, the Clean Air Act, were put into place to combat air pollution; all the same the pollution has only increased (Environmental Protection Agency, 2017). There is a need for greater proactive efforts to tackle pollution, policies alone are not necessarily going to be enough. There are three specific things that should be considered to aid in the fight against air pollution. Firstly, it is necessary to be open to embracing the many alternative energy sources that can lessen the need for the fossil fuels that contribute to the pollution, like solar, wind and water sources of energy. Secondly, people must make a concerted effort to have less of an individual negative impact on the environment. Make more environmentally friendly choices; preventing pollution is a worthwhile goal and every little bit does make a difference (Sierra-Vargas & Teren, 2012). Finally, it is necessary to start looking at the ecosystems and habitats that are being most effective by air pollution and the global warming effects it causes and working towards preservation and conservation of all of the living things in those environments.
CONCLUSION
If efforts are not made today to effect positive change and aid in healing the environments, then those environments will not exist in the future. Plants and animals will die; this does not just affect the animal kingdom but on the people rely upon animals for food all across the globe. The children of the future may only see many animals in videos and zoos, the air they breathe may make them sick and climate change may have made parts of the world unlivable. Air pollution is the seed of so much of the environmental disease; if society can eliminate the seed then the symptoms could be avoided all together to the betterment of the planet, the people today and all the generations to come in the future.
REFERENCES
Sierra-Vargas, M.P. and Teren, L.M. (2012). Air pollution: Impact and prevention. Respirology.
17(7). 1031-1038.
Environmental Protection Agency. (2017). Air pollution: Current and future challenges. EPA.1
Retrieved January 20, 2017, from https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/air-pollution-current-and-future-challenges
