8/12/2019 Air Pollution is the Biggest Problem We as Americans Face Today

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Air pollution is the biggest problem we as Americans face today. The problem arose during theindustrial revolution and has just gotten worse since then. However, the industrial revolution

brought many great changes to the world; better transportation, cheaper merchandise, and hasmade our life better. In the beginning of the industrial revolution, the problem of pollution wasnot something that people paid attention too. As the science involved, people began to realize the

problem with pollution.

Many different sources cause air pollution. Automobiles that are burning gasoline produce veryharmful gases and incineration of products. Factories produce millions of particles that are carriedoff into the air. Gaseous by-products produced by chemical plants release these toxic gases whentheir concentration is at a high enough level. As the world has become more industrialized, theincreased amount of air pollution and new health hazards have developed. Air pollution can arisefrom different sources that we cannot control. For example, forest fires, dust storms, andvolcanoes.

One of the sources of air pollution is acid rain. Raindrops that are combined with polluted air

create acid rain. Acid rain mainly causes the erosion of buildings, destruction of crops, and manyother assets. Global warming is also caused by acid rain. Many scientists predict that significantalterations in climate patterns could become more noticeable in the next few years. The globalaverage temperature has been estimated to project an increase of as much as 9 F before the year2100.

Indoor and outdoor air pollution are the two main sources of pollution. Indoor air pollutersinclude many different products, from certain cleaners to furnishings, which release toxic organiccompounds into the air that you breathe. Another very toxic indoor air pollutant is called mold,which is a microscopic organism that can grow on any type of surface; it typically grows wherethe humidity is above 70 percent. Mold creates spores that go inside the human body and may

cause complications. The American Lung Association states that, mold triggers allergic reactions,which includes asthma. A recent study done by the Mayo Clinic states that mold is the main causeof all chronic sinus infections. Mold can also lead to serious complications, including breathingdifficulties, memory and hearing loss, and bleeding of the lungs. Indoor pollutants are serious, butthey are minimal compared to the outdoor pollutants that are in the air we breathe. Fissile fuel aregases that are released into the air, which are burned by the factory ships, automobiles, ships, andtrains. Every industry produces their own pattern of air pollution.

Sulfuric acid is the major cause of the acidity of acid rain, which not only damages the forestsin the Northern Hemisphere, but is also causes fish to die off in many northern lakes. Solutionsfor this problem are very expensive; due to the difficulty of removing the sulfur from coal and oil,

they are burned. Carbon dioxide is less lethal than carbon monoxide, sulfur oxide, and nitrogenoxide, but carbon dioxide (CO2) is the one major pollutant in the atmosphere. Fossil fuels anddeforestation are the major sources of carbon dioxide. In 1975, there were 18thousand milliontons of carbon dioxide that was released into the atmosphere, however, the atmosphere onlyshowed an increase of 8 million tons. Ocean waters contain approximately sixty times morecarbon dioxide than the atmosphere. If the oceans no longer can absorb this ratio of carbon

8/12/2019 Air Pollution is the Biggest Problem We as Americans Face Today

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