Environmental Impact On Environment

894 Words4 Pages

Project: The Impact of Our Actions on the Environment
Topic: Air Pollution
“One hundred and fifty years ago, the monster began; this country had become a place of industry. Factories grew on the landscape like weeds. Trees fell, fields were up-ended, rivers blackened. The sky choked on smoke and ash, and the people did, too, spending their days coughing and itching, their eyes turned forever toward the ground. Villages grew into town, towns into cities. And people began to live on the earth rather than within it.” – Patrick Ness. The situation in the world today is the same, if not worse, than it was then. The environment is suffering even more due to increased human activity that causes pollution. Air pollution especially is one aspect that …show more content…

Natural causes of air pollution consist of volcanic eruptions, forest fires and other natural processes. However, these occurrences are not often seen and only contribute to a small amount of air pollution in the world. They create air pollutants such as ash and smoke which may give rise to harmful effects on the environment as well as the people. Human activity contributes to the bulk of air pollution. Outdoor air pollution can be caused by manufacturing, burning of fossil fuels, other forms of burning as well as smoking. The exhaust from manufacturing factories often contain harmful materials such as nitrogen and sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and particulate matter which can affect the atmosphere, vegetation as well as human health. Burning of fossil fuels is another major contributor to air pollution. Fossil fuel is used largely in our everyday life, from fueling cars to powering factories, it is essential for most of the things we do. Other forms of burning include burning of forests to clear the land for farming. For example, in Sumatra, the haze from such burning activities has caused the country to be “shrouded in an acrid white cloud of smoke so dense that visibility is down to 50 metres (about 160 feet).” These forms of burning emit large amounts of carbon dioxide - which is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming, smoke and other …show more content…

The causes of air pollution varies from outdoors air pollution to indoors air pollution and causes harmful health effects that may stay with us and cause further complications. There are causes that can be prevented and it is imperative for us to take charge and make an effort to prevent further harm to both the environment and the people. Preventive measures can come from the society or the individual. Even small efforts by an individual counts, if more people put in the effort, the problems we face from air pollution could be greatly reduced. After all, “When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves” – David

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