Alex Davis
H* English
Mrs. Benedict
November 21, 2011
Solution to Air Pollution
Life is a fragile substance; that requires only the most basic of needs. Among the
necessities for life, air is second only to water. Unfortunately the very air used to sustain life is
now being polluted by a multitude of sources, from factories to cars, even to food production. If
the air becomes terminally contaminated every person, animal, and plant will become an
unfortunate casualty of pollution. Air pollution also produces an equally as terrifying byproduct
acid rain. When pollutants in the air mix with water vapor they condense into acid rain which is
harmful to nearly all forms of life. This deadly rain also corrodes metal which then reduces the
structural strength of buildings and bridges.
So what is the solution to air pollution? Well the only permanent solution is to eliminate
the need for fossil fuels. Fossil fuels release carbon dioxide which adds to the multitude of
greenhouse gasses that plague our atmosphere. Unfortunately the damage that has been done to
our atmosphere cannot be undone in a timely manner; nature must slowly run its course to purge
the pollution from the air. Many alternatives energy sources are in the process of becoming more
efficient, like wind, solar, and hydro power. Given the time and the funds to improve, anyone of
these energy sources can become as productive as fossil fuels. The reduction of co2 emissions
would remove one of the major contributors to air pollution.
Understandably the initial process of becoming independent from fossil fuels may be
difficult; vehicles that run on gasoline would either be scraped or modified to run on an alternate
fuel source. Even the sustainable energy sources have their own unique pro and cons. Hydro
power has adverse effects on the local ecosystem by damming the water supply. Solar panels that
gather energy from the sun requires lots of land surface area to collect light. Wind power only
works a fraction of the time; when there is wind to spin the turbine. But despite all the cons the
one undeniable truth is that the continued dependence on fossil fuels soils the air and poisons the
life that breaths it.
Air pollution effects every man, woman, and child who lives on Earth. It is known to
cause chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and even damage to the brain,
nerves, liver, or kidneys. So a decrease in air pollution would inadvertently lead to a decrease in
health complications. In major industrial cities such as Beijing the air has become so foul; the
people living in the city must wear masks to help filter out the impurities in the air. With no air
pollution the citizens of Beijing would have the freedom to leave their own homes without the
threat of serious illness. If air pollution was eliminated, the whole world would feel the positive
effects.
Animals have had millions of years to become specially adapted to the region of the
world they inhabit, yet unfortunately none have adapted to breathing in poisoned air. Besides the
air that would choke the life from animals; air pollution also adds to the existing amount of
greenhouse gasses. These gasses are known to capture the heat from the sun and trap it within the
atmosphere. This effect in turn raises the overall temperature of earth, which wreaks havoc on
ecosystems. A good example is the Polar Bear, over the course of hundreds of thousands of years
the bear has become specially adapted to hunting on the ice sheets of Antarctica. Due to the
increase of greenhouse gasses these ice sheets are melting earlier in the season, causing many
Polar Bears to starve. In the near future the Polar Bear and other similar species may go extinct.
An end to air pollution would give these animals a fighting chance to recover.
Air pollution is not problems that can just go away; the average person needs to help
reduce the output of pollution before the Earth is scarred. Simple actions can be taken to reduce
the amount of air pollution, take public transportation, or carpool. These solutions can be done
every day and drastically reduces the amount of pollution the average person expels. A long term
solution that can be taken by the average person is to plant trees. Trees naturally filter the air of
carbon dioxide and expel life giving oxygen. Between carpooling and planting trees people can
help reduce the output of air pollution. In conclusion, the world won’t save itself, humans
polluted the Earth, and it’s up to humans to clean the planet.