5/31/2017 Causes,EffectsandSolutionsofAirPollutionConserveEnergyFuture

WhatisAirPollution?
Pollutionisnowacommonplaceterm,thatourearsareattunedto.Wehearaboutthevariousforms
ofpollutionandreadaboutitthroughthemassmedia.Airpollutionisonesuchformthatreferstothe
contaminationoftheair,irrespectiveofindoorsoroutside.Aphysical,biologicalorchemicalalteration
totheairintheatmospherecanbetermedaspollution.Itoccurswhenanyharmfulgases,dust,smoke
entersintotheatmosphereandmakesitdifficultforplants,animalsandhumanstosurviveastheair
becomesdirty.

AirpollutioncanfurtherbeclassifiedintotwosectionsVisibleairpollutionandinvisibleairpollution.
AnotherwayoflookingatAirpollutioncouldbeanysubstancethatholdsthepotentialtohinderthe
atmosphereorthewellbeingofthelivingbeingssurvivinginit.Thesustainmentofallthingslivingis
duetoacombinationofgasesthatcollectivelyformtheatmospheretheimbalancecausedbytheincrease
ordecreaseofthepercentageofthesegasescanbeharmfulforsurvival.

Readheremoreabout40factsofairpollution.

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TheOzonelayerconsideredcrucialfortheexistenceoftheecosystemsontheplanetisdepletingdueto
increasedpollution.Globalwarming,adirectresultoftheincreasedimbalanceofgasesintheatmosphere
hascometobeknownasthebiggestthreatandchallengethatthecontemporaryworldhastoovercomein
abidforsurvival.

TypesofPollutants
InordertounderstandthecausesofAirpollution,severaldivisionscanbemade.Primarilyair
pollutantscanbecausedbyprimarysourcesorsecondarysources.Thepollutantsthatareadirectresult
oftheprocesscanbecalledprimarypollutants.Aclassicexampleofaprimarypollutantwouldbethe
sulfurdioxideemittedfromfactories

Secondarypollutantsaretheonesthatarecausedbytheinterminglingandreactionsofprimary
pollutants.Smogcreatedbytheinteractionsofseveralprimarypollutantsisknowntobeassecondary
pollutant.

CausesofAirpollution
1.BurningofFossilFuels:Sulfurdioxideemittedfromthecombustionoffossilfuelslikecoal,
petroleumandotherfactorycombustiblesisonethemajorcauseofairpollution.Pollutionemittingfrom

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5/31/2017 Causes,EffectsandSolutionsofAirPollutionConserveEnergyFuture

vehiclesincludingtrucks,jeeps,cars,trains,airplanescauseimmenseamountofpollution.Werelyon
themtofulfillourdailybasicneedsoftransportation.But,thereoveruseiskillingourenvironmentas
dangerousgasesarepollutingtheenvironment.CarbonMonooxidecausedbyimproperorincomplete
combustionandgenerallyemittedfromvehiclesisanothermajorpollutantalongwithNitrogenOxides,
thatisproducedfrombothnaturalandmanmadeprocesses.

2.Agriculturalactivities:Ammoniaisaverycommonbyproductfromagriculturerelatedactivitiesand
isoneofthemosthazardousgasesintheatmosphere.Useofinsecticides,pesticidesandfertilizersin
agriculturalactivitieshasgrownquitealot.Theyemitharmfulchemicalsintotheairandcanalso
causewaterpollution.

3.Exhaustfromfactoriesandindustries:Manufacturingindustriesreleaselargeamountofcarbon
monoxide,hydrocarbons,organiccompounds,andchemicalsintotheairtherebydepletingthequalityof
air.Manufacturingindustriescanbefoundateverycorneroftheearthandthereisnoareathathasnot
beenaffectedbyit.Petroleumrefineriesalsoreleasehydrocarbonsandvariousotherchemicalsthat
pollutetheairandalsocauselandpollution.

4.Miningoperations:Miningisaprocesswhereinmineralsbelowtheearthareextractedusinglarge
equipments.Duringtheprocessdustandchemicalsarereleasedintheaircausingmassiveairpollution.
Thisisoneofthereasonwhichisresponsibleforthedeterioratinghealthconditionsofworkersand
nearbyresidents.

5.Indoorairpollution:Householdcleaningproducts,paintingsuppliesemittoxicchemicalsintheair
andcauseairpollution.Haveyouevernoticedthatonceyoupaintwallsofyourhouse,itcreatessome
sortofsmellwhichmakesitliterallyimpossibleforyoutobreathe.

SuspendedparticulatematterpopularbyitsacronymSPM,isanothercauseofpollution.Referringtothe
particlesafloatintheair,SPMisusuallycausedbydust,combustionetc.

EffectsofAirpollution
1.Respiratoryandheartproblems:TheeffectsofAirpollutionarealarming.Theyareknowntocreate
severalrespiratoryandheartconditionsalongwithCancer,amongotherthreatstothebody.Several
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millionsareknowntohavediedduetodirectorindirecteffectsofAirpollution.Childreninareas
exposedtoairpollutantsaresaidtocommonlysufferfrompneumoniaandasthma.

2.Globalwarming:Anotherdirecteffectistheimmediatealterationsthattheworldiswitnessingdue
toGlobalwarming.Withincreasedtemperaturesworldwide,increaseinsealevelsandmeltingofice
fromcolderregionsandicebergs,displacementandlossofhabitathavealreadysignaledanimpending
disasterifactionsforpreservationandnormalizationarentundertakensoon.

3.AcidRain:Harmfulgaseslikenitrogenoxidesandsulfuroxidesarereleasedintotheatmosphere
duringtheburningoffossilfuels.Whenitrains,thewaterdropletscombineswiththeseairpollutants,
becomesacidicandthenfallsonthegroundintheformofacidrain.Acidraincancausegreatdamageto
human,animalsandcrops.

4.Eutrophication:Eutrophicationisaconditionwherehighamountofnitrogenpresentinsome
pollutantsgetsdevelopedonseassurfaceandturnsitselfintoalgaeandandadverselyaffectfish,plants
andanimalspecies.Thegreencoloredalgaethatispresentonlakesandpondsisduetopresenceofthis
chemicalonly.

5.EffectonWildlife:Justlikehumans,animalsalsofacesomedevastatingaffectsofairpollution.Toxic
chemicalspresentintheaircanforcewildlifespeciestomovetonewplaceandchangetheirhabitat.The
toxicpollutantsdepositoverthesurfaceofthewaterandcanalsoaffectseaanimals.

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5/31/2017 Causes,EffectsandSolutionsofAirPollutionConserveEnergyFuture

6.DepletionofOzonelayer:Ozoneexistsinearthsstratosphereandisresponsibleforprotecting
humansfromharmfulultraviolet(UV)rays.Earthsozonelayerisdepletingduetothepresenceof
chlorofluorocarbons,hydrochlorofluorocarbonsintheatmosphere.Asozonelayerwillgothin,itwill
emitharmfulraysbackonearthandcancauseskinandeyerelatedproblems.UVraysalsohavethe
capabilitytoaffectcrops.

WhenyoutrytostudythesourcesofAirpollution,youenlistaseriesofactivitiesandinteractionsthat
createthesepollutants.Therearetwotypesofsourcesthatwewilltakealookat:Naturalsourcesand
Manmadesources.

Naturalsourcesofpollutionincludedustcarriedbythewindfromlocationswithverylittleornogreen
cover,gasesreleasedfromthebodyprocessesoflivingbeings(Carbondioxidefromhumansduring
respiration,Methanefromcattleduringdigestion,OxygenfromplantsduringPhotosynthesis).Smoke
fromthecombustionofvariousinflammableobjects,volcaniceruptionsetcalongwiththeemissionof
pollutedgasesalsomakeittothelistofNaturalsourcesofPollution.

Whilelookingatthemanmadecontributionstowardsairpollution,smokeagainfeaturesasaprominent
component.Thesmokeemittedfromvariousformsofcombustionlikeinbiomass,factories,vehicles,
furnacesetc.Wasteusedtocreatelandfillsgeneratemethane,thatisharmfulinseveralways.The

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reactionsofcertaingasesandchemicalsalsoformharmfulfumesthatcanbedangeroustothewellbeing
oflivingcreatures.

SolutionsforAirPollution
1.Usepublicmodeoftransportation:Encouragepeopletousemoreandmorepublicmodesof
transportationtoreducepollution.Also,trytomakeuseofcarpooling.Ifyouandyourcolleaguescome
fromthesamelocalityandhavesametimingsyoucanexplorethisoptiontosaveenergyandmoney.

2.Conserveenergy:Switchofffansandlightswhenyouaregoingout.Largeamountoffossilfuelsare
burnttoproduceelectricity.Youcansavetheenvironmentfromdegradationbyreducingtheamountof
fossilfuelstobeburned.

3.UnderstandtheconceptofReduce,ReuseandRecycle:Donotthrowawayitemsthatareofnouse
toyou.Infactreusethemforsomeotherpurpose.Fore.g.youcanuseoldjarstostorecerealsorpulses.

4.Emphasisoncleanenergyresources:Cleanenergytechnologieslikesolar,windandgeothermalare
onhighthesedays.Governmentsofvariouscountrieshavebeenprovidinggrantstoconsumerswhoare
interestedininstallingsolarpanelsfortheirhome.Thiswillgoalongwaytocurbairpollution.

5.Useenergyefficientdevices:CFLlightsconsumelesselectricityasagainsttheircounterparts.They
livelonger,consumelesselectricity,lowerelectricitybillsandalsohelpyoutoreducepollutionby
consuminglessenergy.

Severalattemptsarebeingmadeworldwideonapersonal,industrialandgovernmentallevelstocurbthe
intensityatwhichAirPollutionisrisingandregainabalanceasfarastheproportionsofthefoundation
gasesareconcerned.ThisisadirectattemptatslackingGlobalwarming.Weareseeingaseriesof
innovationsandexperimentsaimedatalternateandunconventionaloptionstoreducepollutants.Air
Pollutionisoneofthelargermirrorsofmansfollies,andachallengeweneedtoovercometoseea
tomorrow.

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