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Health & Environmental Effects of Air Pollution

While the effects of air pollution are hardly recognizable on a day-to-day basis, both short and long term exposure can cause serious harm to our bodies and our planet. Knowing the dangers of air pollution is important when considering a lifestyle change that could reduce your carbon footprint.

  1. Health

    • A 1994 study conducted by C. Arden Pope III, PhD, at Brigham Young University showed that 50,000 to 100,000 Americans die yearly from outdoor particulate air pollution. Air pollutants from vehicle emissions, power plants and toxic chemicals are linked to chronic respiratory conditions, cancer, heart problems and even birth defects. Some short term effects include eye irritation, upper respiratory infections like bronchitis and pneumonia, and symptoms such as headaches, nausea and allergies.

    Environment

    • Burning fossil fuels contributes to the large amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These emissions are depleting our ozone, which protects the earth from the sun's harmful UV (ultra-violet) rays that can cause diseases such as skin cancer. Air pollution also affects crops and trees, because ground-level ozone can lead to a decrease in the plant's ability to obtain nutrients and grow. Greenhouse gases also trap more of the earth's heat, causing global warming and disturbing the earth's temperature balance. Acid rain is another hazardous result of air pollution, because it contains harmful amounts of nitric and sulfuric acids. It damages trees, causes soils and water bodies to acidify, and speeds the decay of buildings, statues and other important structures.

    Wildlife

    • Like humans, wildlife is severely affected by air pollution. Toxic chemicals in the air they breathe can cause birth defects, reproductive failure and disease in animals. These pollutants can also become concentrated in soil deposits, which seriously impact the habitat of wild animals. Acid rain, as previously mentioned, can acidify bodies of water and cause serious harm to fish and other wildlife. According to Jeremy Colls, some populations of animals in Europe and North America that have also been declining due to acid rain are brown trout, mayfly larvae, beetle larvae, mollusks and aquatic bird species.

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