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TITLE: Air Pollution and Ways to Overcome It

Air is the most common vital component that we need in other to survive. Human
need oxygen from plant to live while plant need carbon dioxide from human to live. This
interaction of air exchange between plant and human is called mutualism as both of it
need each other to survive. However, day by day the fresh air of the environment is getting
polluted because of the mixing of particulates, biological molecules, and other harmful
materials. Mixing of these harmful substances resulted in air pollution which considered
as the most important environmental issues that requires to be noticed and solved by the
efforts of all of us.

Air pollution is the introduction of particulates, biological molecules, and other


harmful substances into earth’s atmosphere. This can cause many effect to human
health. There are two pollutants that can endanger our lives which are ground-level ozone
and airborne particles. Ground-level ozone is a colourless and highly irritating gas that
forms just above the earth’s surface. Ground-level ozone is a colorless and highly irritating
gas that forms just above the earth's surface. It is called a "secondary" pollutant because
it is produced when two primary pollutants react in sunlight and stagnant air. These two
primary pollutants are nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds come from natural sources as well as
human activities such as burning of coal, gasoline and oil in motor vehicles, homes,
industries and power plants. VOCs come from human activity come mainly from gasoline
combustion and marketing, upstream oil and gas production, residential wood
combustion, and from the evaporation of liquid fuels and solvents. Ground-level ozone
can cause disease such as asthma. This happen because ozone reduces lung functions
and the person can feel shortness of breath, wheeze or tightness in the chest.

Airborne particles are microscopic solids which can cause serious lung diseases
as these solids are small in size and easily get deep into person’s lungs causing serious
consequences. Common examples of such particles are fog, dust, and smoke. Sources
of airborne particles can be natural, such as the dust and smoke created by volcanic
eruptions and forest fires, or man-made, such as the soot from the burning of coal in a
power plant or the residual oil particles in vehicle exhaust fumes. Scientific studies show
that these particle pollution can cause health problems in humans and affect the Earth's
climate. People who suffer from heart or lung diseases are at greater risk of death cases
or complications because of airborne particles. There are many symptoms of diseases
cause by the airborne particles such as shortness of breath, irritation of nose, eyes and
throat, tightness in chest, phlegm and some others. Air pollution in urban airs has become
one of the reasons of the increased number of cancer cases.

Every problem has its own solution same goes for air pollution. One of the solution
is to understand where does the air pollution comes from. This mean that we need to find
the root of the air pollution. There are six major causes of air pollution which are ground-
level ozone, particulate matter, lead, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide.
Ground-level ozone occurs when nitrogen oxides mix with volatile organic compounds
(VOCs). The chemical reaction that follows emits ground-level ozone that can lead to
numerous health problems. Upper respiratory ailments such as asthma, bronchitis and
emphysema are common diseases that causes by ground-level ozone. This chemical
reaction occur came from the gasoline vapors, car exhaust fumes, a large storage of
chemical agents and factory emissions. Air pollution can be reduce when these key
elements are reduce.

Next, air pollution can be overcome by reduce the usage of automobiles. This is
because automobiles can contribute to ground-level ozone. The petroleum refineries
produce sulfur dioxides as the making of gasoline requires the burning of coal and oil.
The usage of automobile can be reduced by consolidating errands and shopping. This is
to avoid making multiple trips to the same location. We can also reduce the usage of
automobile by make a commitment to take public transport to work. The use of hybrid car
can contribute to overcome the air pollution as it combine electric and fuel energy to get
better mileage and produce nearly zero emissions.

Besides that, plant more plants also can help in reduce the air pollution. Plant such
as Gerbera Daisy, Peace Lily and English Ivy are useful in removing carbon monoxide
from the air. These plants actually filter harmful chemicals and dangerous compounds
from the air, absorbing the toxins through tiny pores in their leaves and “digesting” the
pollution through their stems, roots and out through the soil. Using these natural air filters
at home or office can greatly reduce the amount of indoor air pollution and help eliminate
recurring colds and respiratory problems. Study show that the other plant that are useful
in removing carbon monoxide from air are bamboo palm, Chinese evergreen and
Dracaena trees.

The other method to reduce air pollution is by using solar power. Solar power is
energy from the sun that is converted into thermal or electrical energy. Today’s solar
panels are unique in both design and installation at home. Utility-scale solar panel is
solution to reducing the air pollution that cause global warming. Solar panel will play an
important role in deploying more clean energy. Not only can home and business owners
generate their own electricity with photovoltaic panels, they can reduce the amount of
fossil fuels they use to heat water and to heat and cool their buildings with solar thermal
technology.

Air pollution can also be reduce prevent the usage of lead. Lead commonly use in
manufacture of paint, toy, battery, fuel and some other. In other to reduce the use of lead,
we should check our electric appliances to make sure there are no leaks in the lines or
shorts in the wiring. We should also never burn the trash or use the fire place as an
alternative get rid of excess garbage. Call the County Department of Environmental
Health to ask where to legally dispose of the old battery. Most importantly, the label on
painted items such as furniture, decorator items and children’s toys must be check to
ensure there is no lead on it.

In conclusion, this air pollution issue should be overcome not only by the
government but also by the community. The community and government must cooperate
with each other to find the alternative in overcome the air pollution. Schools should
organize campaign such as ‘Go Green’ campaign to give information to the students
regarding the effect of the air pollution toward human health and ways to prevent it. Parent
also should put an effort by reminding their child not to frequently involve in outdoor
activities in other to reduce the unhealthy exposure to ozone. When air pollution are
reduce, we can live a better life.

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