(Chris LeBoutillier, 2017)

Contents
Abstract ........................................................................................................................ 3

Effects and Causes of Air Pollution ........................................................................... 4

What Effect of the Air Pollution ............................................................................... 4

What Cause of the Air Pollution ............................................................................... 5

Measures to prevent Air Pollution and What we can do ......................................... 5

Walk, bike, or use public transportation to get around ............................................. 6

Don't waste energy.................................................................................................... 6

Focus on renewable energy ...................................................................................... 6

What has changed since the measures were taken................................................... 6

Conclusion.................................................................................................................... 8

Reference...................................................................................................................... 9
Abstract

Air is indispensable for the living organisms that inhabit our planet, and is an essential
substance for life. However, there is a big problem on our planet today. The development
of humankind has been particularly driven by industry and industrial activity. It is still
going on, and one of these drawbacks is the emission of large amounts of exhaust gases.
This causes pollutants to be taken up into the clouds, which in turn causes acidic rainfall,
death of forests and crops, and various other damages. The depletion of the ozone layer,
which prevents harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun, is also a major problem. The
destruction of this layer may increase the amount of harmful ultraviolet rays reaching the
ground.

Pollution is caused by chemical, physical, and biological factors that alter the natural
characteristics of the atmosphere. It is basically caused by runoff of carbon monoxide,
ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, etc. In recent years, 99% of people have taken in
more air pollution into their bodies than the guidelines specified by the WHO.

Air pollution has a long history, dating back to 14th century England. Increased use of
coal due to industrial development began to pollute the air, and in modern times,
Bangladesh, China, and California have been affected in large part. More recently, air
pollution has been caused by gases emitted from cars, trains, factories, incineration, and
power generation.

Figure 1 and 2: Toxic substances from factories and car

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality Index, which
measured 3,000 cities worldwide, 64% of all cities had PM2.5 levels above the WHO
standard, with the majority of these cities in South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Middle
East, and Africa, led by India. There are also shocking reports that approximately 93% of
the world's children under the age of 15 breathe dirty air that poses serious risks to their
health and development, making it imperative that measures be taken to prevent the
effects of air pollution on the children who will be responsible for the future.

What Effect of the Air Pollution

Air pollution has a negative impact on health. Very small particles penetrate deep into the
lungs, increasing the risk of respiratory and circulatory diseases such as asthma and
bronchitis. Some of the higher concentrations also produce photochemical smog, which
irritates the mucous membranes of the eyes and respiratory tract, causing symptoms such
as eye pain, nausea, and headaches.

Air pollution has a negative impact on the natural environment. Much of this is caused
by acid rain generated by air pollution. Acid rain is a phenomenon in which acidic
substances dissolve in rain, snow, and fog, making them more acidic than normal. Acid
rain can acidify rivers, lakes, and soil, adversely affecting ecosystems, and can also
damage buildings and cultural assets by dissolving concrete and causing metals to rust.
Effects on the human body include irritation of the eyes, throat, nose, and skin, and
discoloration of hair color to green.

The economic impact is also severe. According to the World Bank, air pollution caused
the premature death of about 550 million people in 2013, with a total loss of about 225
billion dollars in labor income and 5.11 trillion dollars in health losses worldwide.
However, in 2013, the loss of labor income due to air pollution was 40% higher than it
was in 1990, and the loss of health and welfare was twice as high, indicating that air
pollution is becoming worse every year and is a major drag on the economy.
What Cause of the Air Pollution

Air pollution can be broadly classified into two categories: that caused by nature, such as
volcanic activity, forest fires, and sand dust, and that caused by human activities, such as
vehicle and factory emissions. Of these, the most serious impacts are from human
activities, specifically, air pollution is caused by emissions from automobiles, factories,
thermal power plants, and other sources, air pollutants from homes and offices, yellow
sand generated in deserts, volcanic eruptions, and many other substances. These
substances, in the form of acid rain, photochemical smog, PM2.5, etc., cause significant
damage.

Figure 5: where the pollution comes from

Measures to prevent Air Pollution and What we can do

We need to think about ways to reduce air pollution in the current situation. The first thing
we can do is to try to avoid driving cars, to bicycle or walk as much as possible, and to
be careful not to use electricity, gas, or oil unnecessarily at home. We can also switch to
LED lighting, replace old appliances with energy-efficient ones, switch to an electric
power company that supplies a large amount of renewable energy, and renovate our
windows with double-paned or insulated sashes. There are other measures to be taken on
days when high ozone levels are expected or high particle levels are expected, but the one
that applies to all of them is that we should avoid using gas in our cars and other vehicles,
and conserve energy.

Walk, bike, or use public transportation to get around

Walking or using public transportation such as buses and trains instead of driving is an
easy and effective way to prevent air pollution. As the amount of automobile traffic
increases, the amount of exhaust gas increases, and more harmful substances and CO2
are emitted. When you go out, it is important to choose your means of transportation with
as much energy conservation in mind as possible.

Don't waste energy

Reduce the amount of time you spend using electrical appliances as much as possible and
use energy-efficient appliances. The more people take energy-saving actions, the less
power is generated by thermal power plants, and the less pollutants are emitted. For
example, simply replacing incandescent lamps with LEDs saves about 80%.

Focus on renewable energy

Renewable energy is energy that does not produce greenhouse gases and can be used
permanently, such as solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and biomass. For example, installing
solar power generation equipment or switching from an electric utility with thermal power
plants to one with renewable energy can result in the prevention of air
pollution.

What has changed since the measures were taken

The rate of reduction of air pollutant emissions in the U.S. in recent years has
unexpectedly declined significantly in recent years, and over the past several decades the
U.S. government has implemented a variety of environmental measures to improve air
pollution. As for ground-level ozone concentrations that cause photochemical smog, a
75% reduction in the rate of reduction has been observed since 2011 in the eastern United
States. This is thought to be a manifestation of the effects of the reduced rate of reduction
in air pollutant emissions.
 Figure 7: Carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption in the United States
from 1975 to 2022

Thus, even if CO2 emissions in the U.S. have been curbed, they are still on the rise
worldwide. The 2022 world rankings for air pollution were Niger (1st), Nepal (2nd),
Qatar (3rd), India (4th), Mauritania (5th), Egypt (6th), and the United States was ranked
181st among them. This shows that even if only the U.S. could control air pollution, it
would be difficult to take immediate countermeasures because other countries are
overwhelmingly polluting the air in large quantities.
 Figure8: Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions worldwide from 1940 to 2022

Conclusion

Air pollution, which adversely affects humans, plants, animals, and the natural
environment, is a major problem in many countries around the world. The main causes of
air pollution are toxic substances generated by automobiles, factories, thermal power
plants, etc. These substances, in the form of acid rain, photochemical smog, PM2.5, etc.,
are causing great damage worldwide. Although we are taking measures as a nation,
individual-level efforts are also essential to address the major problem of air pollution.
Let's start with what we can do, such as energy-saving actions and the introduction of
renewable energy.
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Figure:
Figure8: Global Carbon Project. 2022. “Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions
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Figure 0, 3, 4, 6, 9: Irasuto-ya. 2012-now. Illustration masked panda, Person who have

Cover background: Chris LeBoutillier. 2017. Photo on background of cover page