The Cost of Air Pollution - Assignment Example

The Cost of Air Pollution Air pollution can be described as the contamination of air. Any alteration of the atmospheric air, which is biological, physical or even chemical, can be said to be pollution. Pollution usually happens when harmful elements that include smoke, dust, and gases enter the atmosphere making it difficult for animals and plants to survive as the air becomes unclean. Air pollution can be said to be either visible or invisible. Sustainment of life on earth depends on a combination of gases that form the atmosphere. Any form of imbalance between these constituents can lead to harming the living things. Such harm can be said to be economical or even bodily although the two are connected in that deteriorating physical health affects the economy since individual productivity in the workplace is affected adversely and additional resources must be directed towards resolving these issues. While there may be either primary or secondary pollutants, the main sources of air pollution include burning of fossil fuels which is done on a daily basis both in the manufacturing plants and in the transport sector, certain agricultural activities that include usage of fertilizers and pesticides, and mining operations (What is Air Pollution?). Generally, any operation that releases any form of gases into the atmosphere is usually polluting it. When considering the overall impact or the cost of air pollution, these effects are far reaching and have been known to cause deaths. Emission is the release of gases into the atmosphere and it is the most common cause of air pollution and most health related concerns. One of the most common effects or cost of air pollution is health problems. These include both respiratory issues and heart problems. When children are exposed to polluted air, they may develop breathing difficulties or even develop asthma, which is a respiratory problem. Certain pollutants are known to cause pneumonia in children. Those days that are characterized with having smog account for the most hospitalization because the quality of the air is poor. People end up breathing in particles that harm them. On the other hand, air pollution is also known to cause cancer. This happens when air pollutants that include ground level ozone cause injuries to the lungs (Natural Resources Defense Council). This is because the respiratory system is particularly sensitive to any form of air pollution. These pollutants may also lead to inflammation of the lungs, which can affect other organs such as the heart and the blood vessels. Ground ozone can also be responsible for damaging the alveoli, the air sacks that control exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. The size of the pollutant particles in the air determines where they would be deposited in the lungs when breathed in. Such particles may cause cancers such as lung cancer (Repository Effects of Air Pollution). Other health-related problems that may be related to pollution include various allergies. Health related issues also affect the economy ensuring that countries realize losses both in human resource and in budgetary allocations. With respect to health costs, countries are allocating more and more budgetary resources towards health care due to air pollution. Such resources are allocated to cater for the chronic issues that may result from inhaling polluted air. One of the most recent occurrences is child asthma, which is requiring more finds to be directed to the health sector so as to cater for the children’s health. On the other hand, these governments are also encountering losses due to human resource productivity deterioration. This performance is usually affected by increased visits to doctors by the employees. While this may increase absenteeism, employees who are not physically healthy exhibit low performance in the organization. The ozone layer has also depleted significantly due to air pollution. Greenhouse gases that include carbon dioxide are responsible for depleting the ozone layer leading to an increase in global temperature. The main function of the ozone layer is to protect people from harmful rays of the sun. If such rays reach the earth, they can cause various problems that range from skin to eye problems. These rays can also affect the crops (Effects of Air Pollution). Therefore, depleting ozone layer can also lead to additional health issues. The countries with advanced industrialization such as the western developed countries are responsible for most of the ozone depletion due to their large-scale production and emission of carbon related gases that affect the ozone layer. While most countries are attempting to reduce emission of these gases, there are still a significant number of countries that produce large amounts of these gases and directly contribute towards the depletion of the ozone. Reducing the emission of these gases also requires additional investments implying that these gases are also affecting economies from numerous perspectives. Global warming, on the other hand, is a bigger issue that results from air pollution. Carbon dioxide is the most common gas released into the atmosphere and that has devastating effects such as the formation of global warming which in turn cases temperatures of the world to rise. This is due to the effect on the ozone layer, which then leads to melting of ice and a consequential increase in ocean levels. This may be the main cause of devastating impacts during typhoons and tsunamis. Specifically, air pollution has far-reaching effects mostly to the human lives. Although the most industrialized countries are the main contributors to the pollution, the effects affect all individuals even though such countries may experience more effects. The main effects of global warming include change in seasons where the cold seasons become warmer (Casper 2-5). The countries that experience lengthy periods of dry seasons, the effects are worse because they may not receive rains for longer periods. This increases draught lengths, which in turn leads to deaths of both human beings and animals. This calls for more input from government resource reserves thus reducing the funds available for actual development. The floods that result from longer than usual rainfall seasons in certain regions are also responsible for loss of lives and damage to property. For the markets that rely on fish, the quantity of fish has been reducing because of the temperature increase. This is because higher temperature affects the food that the fish consume. Reduction of these nutrients means that fish look for food deeper in the sea or even migrate. This may affect some people’s income especially those that rely on the fish industry. Global warming is also responsible for extinction of some species due to changes in their original inhabitants. For instance, the animals that live in the cooler regions such as those that reside in the Arctic Circle are becoming extinct due to changing temperatures. Other effects or costs of air pollution include acid rain. Acid rain forms due to release of gases such as sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere. When in the atmosphere, the gases may create acidic compounds and combine with water droplets that are responsible for creating clouds. These water clouds then become acidic resulting in acidic rain when it rains (What is Air Pollution?). This rain also has harmful effects to the animals, plants, and to the human beings. Acidic rain may kill trees after having destroyed their leaves. In addition, when acidic rain infiltrates the soil, it may affect the living organisms that rely on the soil as their inhabitant. If these organisms are harmed, the chemistry of the soil may change since these organisms have certain functions that they accomplish such as those that ensure that the soil is appropriate for supporting plants. When the acidic water manages to access the oceans, it can harm the fish. This may harm the companies that rely on fish and the people that get their livelihood from these industries. This may in turn affect the economies because these economies also rely on the income that comes from fishery industries. Generally, acidic rain is harmful to the economy. Furthermore, eutrophication also takes place as a result of air pollution. The high amounts of nitrogen in certain pollutants develop on the surface of the sea transforming itself into algae through this procedure. This affects the fish, animal species, and plants. This may be confirmed through the presence of green colored algae on lakes and ponds. This directly affects the levels of fish and the overall fishing industry. While global warming has adverse effects on most aspects of the society, there are possible solutions that may be implemented to eliminate or reduce these effects. Some of the best and easily implementable methods of eliminating the adverse effects of global warming include usage of public modes of transportation to reduce emission of carbon related gases by this sector, conserving energy by switching off lights when not using because more fossil fuels are burnt producing the energy, and considering reusing and recycling (What is Air Pollution?). Governments should also emphasize on clean energy resources such as solar, geothermal, and wind energies. These would help in reducing the fossil fuel produced energy consumption and in turn reduce the gases emitted. Individuals can also attempt to use efficient devices to reduce energy consumption. Most of the solutions concentrate on reduction of energy consumption since this is the main reasons behind the bigger part of global warming and air pollution. Works Cited Casper, Julie K. Changing Ecosystems: Effects of Global Warming. New York: Facts on File, 2010. Print. Effects of Air Pollution. 10 Jun 2013. Web, 25 Oct 2014. http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/air-pollution/effects Natural Resources Defense Council. Asthma and Air Pollution. 28 Jan 2014. Web, 25 Oct 2014. http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/fasthma.asp Repository Effects of Air Pollution. 18 Oct 2013. Web, 25 Oct 2014. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/air/out-ext/health-sante/respir-eng.php What is Air Pollution? 2014. Web, 25 Oct 2014. http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-effects-solutions-of-air-pollution.php Read More