What are some of the different solutions for reducing air pollution?

wind turbines providing renewable energy.

Solutions for reducing air pollution output are transportation efficiency, smarter buying habits, and conserving energy. The first solution is improving your transportation efficiency. The first thing you can do to reduce pollution is to car pool or use public transport.  By using public transport rather than a car you will generate several times lower ozone pollution and up to 30 times less CO2 emissions. If you do choose to use your car try improving your fuel economy. You can do this by avoiding accelerating quickly, braking hard and driving at high speeds, especially when in heavy traffic. You should also remove excess weight from your car and remove unused roof racks or bike carriers, which cause drag. The second solution to reducing air pollution is to change your buying habits. You can do this by buying environmentally friendly products or buying locally made products instead of importing them. That's because the practice of mass-producing, packaging, and shipping goods to make them readily available to consumers is directly responsible for industrial emissions that pollute the air. Another thing to do is to buy products that you can use again e.g. glass containers. You should also recycle products instead of throwing them in the bin and try making compost bins from garbage scarps which you can later on put into your soil as a fertiliser. Another solution to reducing air pollution is conserving energy. This can be simple things like turning off the lights and TV when you’re not using them. These small actions are more important than ever when it comes to reducing air pollution, since the electricity that runs your lights and appliances is generated by emissions-producing coal or natural gas plants. You should also get rid of old appliances that use lots of energy in favour for more modern energy efficient appliances. In conclusion these are all little things you can do to help reduce your output of air pollution. 

What are some of the perspectives of different people and groups about Air pollution?

I found lots of perspectives on air pollution from market leading companies to people living in air polluted towns and cities around the world.  My first perspective was from Mercedes Benz New Zealand. They stated that it’s the very nature of vehicle production that leads to air pollutants, but said “It remains our goal to maintain our low level of production emissions and also to achieve further reductions where technologically and economically possible”. My second perspective was from BP Global. Their perspective was that Air pollution is a major environmental risk to health around the world and that all companies need to develop standards of air quality around their site and regulations on how much they produce. They also said “At our operating sites, we manage emissions to air through our local operating management systems; we are developing plans to comply with applicable legislation and aiming to minimize any potential impacts. We monitor our emissions to air and ambient air quality to check our performance against our plans”. Another perspective was from emirates airline. They said that airlines are a major contribution to air pollution and that’s why their company buys the most modern, quietest, low-emissions fleets in the world - with an average age of just over six years, well below the global average of 14 years. They also said that the aviation industry need to Invest billions of dollars in to low-emissions aircrafts, and make sure to fly them in the most efficient way possible, because this is one of the biggest contributions the sector can make to reduce their carbon footprint, and their impact on the environment. Another perspective I got was from some citizens living in polluted cities in china. Beijing resident Su Zhiyu said "It's the smog season of the year again. Now I wonder if I can live long enough to see it solved. If the government can't solve the problem for the residents, [we] should at least have a day off on smoggy days," another resident said “There are too many cars. I don’t wear a mask because I’m not afraid of death.” There has also been lots of protest around china as this is becoming a serious health issue in their country. These are some perspectives of companies and citizens on the issue of air pollution.

How is Air pollution affecting the earth and its people?

Air pollution is affecting society through health impacts and devastating effects on the environment and the global economy.  The first effect of air pollution is physical health. Statistics in the USA have linked regular exposure to air pollution to many different types of pulmonary disease and can have serious cardiovascular effects. Research showed that 64,000 deaths in 2010 in the USA where pulmonary disease and lung cancer which was caused by exposure to air pollution. Exposure to Air pollution can also cause decreased lung capacity in children which can reduce their lung capacity by up to 20 percent. The American Heart Association reports that living in areas with heavy air pollution can reduce your life by 1.8 to 3.1 years on average. Air pollution can also lead to increased chance of having a heart attack or stroke, and can even cause problems with normal blood function and clotting. The second effect of air pollution is on the environment. The first effect on the environment is acid rain which is caused by a chemical reaction that begins when compounds like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are combined with water and oxygen in the atmosphere. Acid rain causes acidification of lakes and streams and contributes to the damage of trees at high elevations. Acid rain also accelerates the decay of building materials and paint. Another effect on the environment that air pollution has is the enhanced greenhouse effect. Air pollution is helping contribute to the earth’s temperature rising to unsafe levels which are contributing to global warming. The effects of this are happening and will begin to happen if the earth’s temperature keeps on rising. An example of some of these effects will be higher sea levels, increased melting of the ice, hurricanes, storms, draughts and many more environmental effects that will increase. Another effect of air pollution is economic. In the USA reports done have showed that $40-$50 billion dollars each year is spent on the health costs of human exposure to outdoor air pollutants. With acid rain causing $6 billion a year in damage to crops, forests, lakes, and buildings. These are the main effects that air pollution has on today’s society and environment.

What Causes Air Pollution?

Traffic leading into Shanghai city.

Air pollution is caused by emissions from transportation, industrial factories, power plants and agriculture. The first cause is emissions from transportation.  Modern day transport such as cars, heavy duty trucks, trains, shipping vessels and airplanes all burn lots of fossil fuels to work. These fossil fuels produce both primary and secondary pollutants. The emissions from these forums of transport produce dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, hydrocarbons and particulates. When these fumes mix with environmental gases they create toxic gases which cause air pollution. When this pollution is energized with sunlight you can get smog, which can hang over cities for days on end. The second cause is industrial factories and power plants. Although renewable energy is becoming more widely used in developed countries now the majority of electricity is still produced by burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas, and oil, mostly in conventional power plants. An example of this is United States where 70 percent is produced by fossil fuels. Just like transport it should theoretically produce nothing worse than carbon dioxide and water, but in practice they don't burn cleanly. Power plants produce a range of air pollutants, notably sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulates. They also release huge amounts of carbon dioxide, a key cause of global warming and climate change when it rises and accumulates in the atmosphere. Industrial factories that produce goods that all citizens rely on release small amounts of pollution continually over a long period of time, though the effects can accumulative. Another cause of air pollution is agriculture. Methane is a greenhouse gas which is produced when organic materials decay, or rot, and is also given off by farm animals when they digest their food.   The amount of methane gas in the atmosphere from agriculture spreading is increasing by 0.9 percent every day. This is because of the spreading agriculture industry, including the use of farm animal dung and rotting vegetation as fertilizer on crops. These are all the main cause of outdoor air pollution in civilisation today.