Our Nation's Air: Air Pollution in Industrialized Countries

Air pollution has become a problem in big industrialized countries like Japan and China. The United States under the Environmental Program Agency (EPA) has tried its best to deal with this issue. Air pollution basically results from the incomplete combustion of certain fuels like petrol and coal. The main course of pollution is usually furnaces from factories, and motor vehicles among others. Air pollution is harmful to the atmosphere and damages the environment, health, and finally the quality of life. Air pollution takes many forms, and it may occur in homes, schools, offices, and even around the globe. The worst part of air pollution is that it damages the ozone layer. The ozone layer protects us from ultraviolet rays and if the ozone layer is depleted the ultraviolet rays may be dangerous to all living things. Some pollutants do return to the planet as acid rain which is more dangerous since they can poison the lakes and rivers making them unsuitable for aquatic animals. There are six main pollutants that the environmental program agency has considered as of high concern, they are also known as criteria pollutants, they include; carbon monoxide CO, ozone O3, sulfur dioxide SO2, Particle Pollution, and finally Lead Pb. EPA has tried it is best to regulate carbon monoxide since the clean air act was passed two decades ago and amended the air quality has improved in tremendously (EPA, 2010). In the past several years due to new inventions and strong regulations, there has been a downward trend in air pollution. As much as the improvements are good, there is a need for further reduction in pollution in all parts of the United States. There are new regulations that were set by the EPA; it is expected that as soon as they are put into effect air quality will continue to improve. It also came to the attention of the EPA that the changing air temperature is directly linked to greenhouse gases and their accumulation in the atmosphere. While other pollutants have been on the decrease, GHG levels have increased by 7 percent in the past two decades, and they are increasing at a very fast rate (EPA, 2010). The reason why we care about these pollutants is that they affect each and every one on the planet and if we do not come up with a solution our way of life will be changed forever, and the worst part of it all is that it will affect our health and our children’s health (EPA, 2010). Since the EPA act was amended two decades ago there have been several emerging trends, in the entire United States ground level the concentration of ground-level ozone on average was 13 percent lower in the year 2010 than the way it was in 2001 (EPA, 2010). EPA agents started to note the decline in 2002, between the years 2001 – 2003 and 2008 – 2010 the monitoring sites recorded a record-breaking drop of 82 percent in ozone concentrations (EPA, 2010). Areas of the greatest improvement were the likes of Cleveland, Ohio, Milwaukee, Chicago, and South Bend. However, ozone trends do vary depending on location some sites may show an increase in concentration while others that are nearby show a different reading (EPA, 2010). The most confusing part is how different climates affect the ozone concentration, for example in the year 2010 California had the highest ozone concentrations. While in Utah the highest concentration was recorded in winter. It is mind-boggling how sources of NOx and VOC emissions are kept inside snow during the winter and are uncovered by winds and hence course the ozone concentration to increase (EPA, 2010). EPA in the past two decades has gone a long way to improve the quality of air in The United States. This was made possible by implementing programs that strived to reduce air emissions by factories cars and other industries. The air quality leads to better standards of living and longevity for all Americans (EPA, 2010). If it was not for EPA our health and our children’s health would not have been the same today, and our way of living would have changed drastically.

Reference 

The United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2010). Our Nation’s Air: Status and Trends Through 2010. EPA.