Air Pollution : Causes and Preventive Measures
The sources of air pollution is described. The preventive measures are discussed.
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In this 21st century, the main threat that catches attention from the whole world is our own endangered and fragile planet – Earth. It has undergone vast changes. The most important factor behind this change is air pollution as it affects all the living species in a large scale. The pollutants that destroy the air is harmful to humans and the environment. It occurs in different forms, as solid particles, liquid- droplets and gases. The atmosphere forms an envelope around our mother earth. This protective covering is full of gases and these gases reduce the harmful effects of sun’s ultra – violet radiation. Some of these rays are reflected back while a portion of some other rays remain trapped in the atmosphere. Thus earth’s albedo is maintained; otherwise the earth would have been like any other planet, which is unsuitable for life.
The green house effect is a necessary evil for the very existence of earth. But the industrial revolution in the 19th century changed the composition of atmosphere. More and more deadly gases were emitted into the air and which was powerful enough to trap more radiation there by increasing the temperature of earth. Another negative impact of the industrial revolution was the release of gases which were powerful enough to deplete ozone layer. The technological revolution, which followed the industrial revolution, changed the way of life. Man become more and more luxurious and vehicles become an integral part of his life. Oil becomes an essential commodity. All these changes significantly increased the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. The abundance of carbon related compounds, produced as a by product of fossil fuel combustion still poses a major threat to the very existence of life on the face of earth.
Air,which is a part of atmosphere, is polluted by other means also. One of main source of such air pollution is houses. Dust and smoke pollute air considerably. Both these occur inside houses. Indoor pollution is hazardous to health. It affects mainly women and children. In developing countries people depend heavily on wood, charcoal and livestock’s excreta for energy. The combustion of these items release large amounts of smoke, soot and dust. Lack of proper ventilation aggravates the situation. In addition to this human greed to increase the area of farm land too cause air pollution. In the developed countries the combustion of primitive sources of energy is minimal but they are the biggest consumers of various toxic items like hair spray, stain removers and paints. The fumes released from these are toxic to the environment as they reduce the amount of oxygen in the air. The climate change threatens the existence of forests around the world. With the increase in temperature the availability of water decreases and it directly affects the ability of trees to survive. In short both developed and developing countries are equally affected by this menace.