Air Pollution

Figure 1

Lately I haven't been feeling too great. With all the new technology, my atmosphere has been becoming even more polluted than it used to be (Figure 1). A fog called smog covers my atmosphere turning my once beautiful blue skies into an ugly brown color. It's harder for me to breathe with all of the pollution that is released. It's a tough job being Earth, but it's even harder when I'm not taken care of. I could really use a lot of help from everyone so that I can be healthy again. There are so many things everyone can do to nurse me back to the excellent shape I used to be in; it will just have to be a team effort from everyone.

A Closer Look

Figure 2

There are four major pollutants that make me sick: Nitrogen oxides, Carbon monoxide, Ozone, and Sulfur dioxide. Cars like to give off this gas called Nitrogen Oxides. These gasses form in the engines of buses and cars because of the high heat that they produce (4). When these gasses are put into the air, they make me really sick. If everyone carpools (Figure 2), that means that there will be less pollution caused by this pollutant because there will be less cars to make it. Cars also let off this gas called Carbon monoxide, which is also really bad for me. It makes my atmosphere really unhealthy and an ugly yellow color that takes away my true beauty .Plus, these gasses, if you are left alone in a closed space could cause you to get carbon monoxide poisoning, and if you are exposed to it for too long, it could be deadly (3). The less cars there are to make these pollutants exist, the healthier my atmosphere will be, which would mean the healthier I am!

But unfortunately those are not the only two pollutants that make me sick. There is also this pollutant called Ozone. Ozone is a special kind of pollutant because it is a secondary pollutant. Ozone comes from the Nitrogen oxides produced from cars and other chemicals in the atmosphere called Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) (5). That means that it is caused because of another pollutant mixing with these VOCs due to the high temperatures in the engines of cars (5). The last major outdoor pollutant is Sulfur dioxide. Sulfur dioxide comes from coal when it is burned (2). Not only is Sulfur dioxide harmful to me, but it is also harmful for you. It can cause really bad chest problems, and no one wants to have that (2). Pollution has become a big problem for me; just like getting the flu for you makes you not feel good, all of the pollutants that are released into the atmosphere make me not feel good. It is not something we can avoid, but there are things we can do to lessen the amount of pollution that is released.

Have No Fear

Figure 3

These pollutants are all really harmful to me, but there are people who try to help keep the pollution at a minimum. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does a lot to protect my atmosphere. For the Nitrogen oxides, there are standards that cars have to pass to be able to drive which limits the pollutants that they give off (1). If a car does not meet these standards, then the car is not allowed to drive. That also helps with Carbon monoxide and Ozone since they are caused by cars as well. The EPA also sets standards on the other pollutants to make me as healthy as I can be. I want to go back to a time when I was healthy and green (Figure 3), but in order to do that, it will take an effort from everyone to make sure they do what they can to limit the pollution that is released into my atmosphere. There are always ways to help me, Earth, it will just take a team effort from everyone to make sure that everyone is doing there part to help keep me clean.

References

Carpool Clipart [Photograph] (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.clipartbest.com/cliparts/dcr/ag9/dcrag9Bc9.jpeg

 

Happy Earth Cartoon [Photograph] (n.d.). Retrieved from http://images.clipartpanda.com/happy-earth-cartoon-earth21810.gif

Kuklinska. K., Wolska, L., Namiesnik, J. (2015). Air quality policy in the U.S. and the EU - a review. Atmospheric Pollution Research, 6(1), 129-137. 10.5094/APR.2015.015

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. (2015, October 15). Air pollution from sulfur dioxide. Retrieved from https://www.tceq.texas.gov/airquality/sip/criteria-pollutatns/sip-so2

United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2015, September 10). Nitrogen dioxide. Retrieved from http://www3.epa.gov/airquality/nitrogenoxides/

United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2015, September 10). Nitrogen oxides. Retrieved from http://www3.epa.gov/airquality/nitrogenoxides/

United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2015, October 1). Ground level ozone. Retrieved from http://www3.epa.gov/ozonepollution/