People had become increasingly aware of the need to conserve and preserve the environment. The irresponsible dumping and mismanagement of wastes inevitably causes various kinds of pollution in the environment, especially air pollution. In fact, air pollution was recently identified as a global health concern and the leading environmental risk factor that allegedly causes the fourth leading cause of deaths worldwide . Due to the reported urgency in addressing alarming levels of air pollution, various studies have been published which scrutinized the causes and effects of air pollution. The current discourse hereby aims to expound on the three (3) major causes of air pollution, such as transportation, burning of fossil fuels, as well as residential and commercial activities. Concurrently, one major effect of air pollution to be discussed is its disturbing impact on human health.
One of the causes of air pollution is transportation. As learned, “motor vehicles produce high levels of Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Hydrocarbons (HC) and Nitrogen Oxides (NO)” . These exhaust gases were revealed to be hazardous to health since CO, for instance, was identified as a poisonous gas that could lead to the development of heart problems in lower concentrations or even death at significantly higher concentrations . The other gas, HC, was learned to be relatively harmless but other HCs, reportedly known as benzene, were revealed to be classified as carcinogens . Finally, NO was noted to contribute to acid rain and could also lead to the development of respiratory illnesses .
Burning of fossil fuels was revealed to be the leading cause of poor air quality in China and India. According to reports, “in China, burning coal is the biggest contributor to poor air quality (and) that outdoor air pollution from coal alone caused an estimated 366,000 deaths in China in 2013” (University of British Columbia, 2016, par. 5). In addition, the practice of burning wood and other cooking materials was identified as a dominant contributor to air pollution in India, where a total of 1.4 million people died as a result of air pollution .
Finally, residential and commercial activities reportedly largely contribute to air pollution through the use of electricity, cooking, painting, cleaning using chemicals, as well as chemical reactions in conjunction with exposure to sunlight. These activities could be considered routine activities and the impact was unconsciously contributing to the cumulative effects of adding to poor air quality within the area. India was identified as the country which exhibited the greatest air pollution, to wit: “thirteen of the top 20 most polluted cities in the world, according a World Health Organization (WHO) report from 2013, are in India. This has led to fears for the health of children living in Asia’s third largest economy” (Armbrecht, 2016, par. 5).
In retrospect, air pollution was revealed to have been caused by human-enduced activities such as the use of current modes of transportation, burning of fossil fuels, as well as residential and commercial activities. The disturbing effect on the health of humans have lately led international environmental agencies to classify air pollution as a global health concern which
should urgently be addressed.
References
Armbrecht, D. (2016, February 24). Which country has the worst air pollution? Clue: it's not China. Retrieved from World Economic Forum: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/02/which-country-has-the-worst-air-pollution
Association for Emissions Control by Catalyst. (n.d.). Air Quality & Health Effects. Retrieved from aecc.eu: http://www.aecc.eu/en/Air_Quality_and_Health_Effects.html
Brauer, M. (2016, February 13). The Global Burden of Disease from Air Pollution. Retrieved from AAAS: https://aaas.confex.com/aaas/2016/webprogram/Paper16170.html
Maharashtra Pollution Control Board. (n.d.). What are the causes of Air Pollution? Retrieved from Maharashtra Pollution Control Board: http://mpcb.gov.in/envtdata/quicklinks.php
