Man Caused Environmental Problem essays

Man Caused Environmental Problem essays Air pollution and air quality has been a topic of concern for decades in the United States. While great progress has been made toward cleaning up our air, there is still much left to do to make air quality healthful for the country's citizens. These experts note, "The United States has achieved remarkable progress in reducing air pollution since the Clean Air Act was established in 1970" (Mangun and Henning 229). However, most large cities still experience many days each year where air quality is unhealthful, and these days can lead to health and breathing problems for What causes air pollution' One of the major causes of unhealthy air is automobile emissions, and emissions from factories, power plants, and other industries. Fossil fuels are one of the biggest problems in controlling air pollution. Industries and homes that burn fossil fuels also contaminate the atmosphere, and these fuels must be replaced with cleaner technologies, such as solar and wind power, and other forms of power that are less costly in monetary and air pollution terms. The remainder of these dirty fuels accumulates in the atmosphere. Often they are invisible, but more often, when the accumulate in enough numbers; they become the glaze of smog that hangs over most large cities in the United States. In times of temperature inversion, when heat rises and traps colder air underneath, air pollution and ozone emissions can be trapped in valleys, creating a dangerous situation for the area's air quality. As the Utah Air Quality Web site notes, "Ozone is an invisible gas caused by vehicle emissions in the presence of sunlight and hot temperatures. [] Continued exposure to ozone can cause breathing problems, reduce lung function, irritate eyes and nasal passages and reduce resistance to colds and other infections" ("Air Quality"). Poor air quality can also exacerbate existing condit...