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The Effects of Air Pollution on the World

In 2007, a Cornell University professor and a group of students found that 40 percent of deaths worldwide could be linked to water, air and soil pollution. Air pollution alone was reported, in 2010, to be the cause of 9,000 deaths in California. Air pollution, such as fine particles and airborne poisonous gases impact human health, animal and plant life as well as the world economy and air quality.

  1. Human Health

    • Air pollution is responsible for a variety of respiratory ailments, such as asthma, but it is also responsible for other less obvious illnesses, including skin cancer, cataracts and emphysema. The main detrimental gases found in the air are ammonia, ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide. These gases are responsible for many human health conditions, among them: glaucoma, lung fibrosis, chronic pulmonary disease and bone marrow deterioration. The effects on the fetus and young children is often intensified.

    Plants and Fish

    • Air pollution has a detrimental effect on plant life. Depletion of the ozone layer and holes in the ozone layer permit elevated levels of ultraviolet radiation to reach the earth and kill plants and agricultural crops. Tree leaves yellow and die from acid rain produced by sulfur and other gases in the atmosphere. Acid rain can also infiltrate the soil and render it useless for crop cultivation. Acid rain that enters freshwater streams, rivers and lakes also kills aquatic life.

    Environment and Air Quality

    • Air pollution affects visibility and air quality. Large metropoli issue warnings to asthmatics during times when the air pollutants are unusually elevated. In the upper atmosphere, scientists have documented a deterioration of the ozone layer and of entry of ozone gas into the air breathed by humans and animals.

    Economic Consequences

    • Air pollution effects can be quantified. Smog leads to increased commuting time for drivers and quantifiable increases in gas/petroleum costs. There are increasing medical costs for treatment of the many ailments and diseases brought about by fine air particles and pollution. Crop and agricultural losses can be attributed to dying crops, decreasing fishing areas, and shrinking forest areas. Employers lose income when employees are sick or late for work. Governments suffer from an inefficient workforce.

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