Air Pollution: Behind the Scene

The Origin of Earth

Naturally, the land called earth was having 99% of nitrogen, oxygen, water vapour and inert gases.

But when air pollution occurs, the composition become unstable and changed.  A common type of air pollution happens when people release particles into the air from burning fuels. 

Air Pollutants Criteria

Carbon Monoxide

A common type of air pollution is dangerous gases, such as particle pollution (often referred to as particulate matter), ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and lead.  Based on United State Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), of the six pollutants, particle pollution and ground-level ozone are the most widespread health threats. These pollutants "criteria" air pollutants because it regulates them by developing human health-based and/or environmentally-based criteria (science-based guidelines) for setting permissible levels. The set of limits based on human health is called primary standards. Another set of limits intended to prevent environmental and property damage is called secondary standards.

Sources of Air Pollutant

There are four main types of air pollution sources:

1. mobile sources (cars, buses, planes, trucks, and trains)
2. stationary sources (power plants, oil refineries, industrial facilities, and factories)
3. area sources (agricultural areas, cities, and wood burning fireplaces)
4. natural sources (wind-blown dust, wildfires, and volcanoes)

Mobile sources account for more than half of all the air pollution in the United States and the primary mobile source of air pollution is the automobile, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Stationary sources, like power plants, emit large amounts of pollution from a single location, these are also known as point sources of pollution. Area sources are made up of lots of smaller pollution sources that aren't a big deal by themselves but when considered as a group can be. Natural sources can sometimes be significant but do not usually create ongoing air pollution problems like the other source types can. 

(sources: http://www.nature.nps.gov/air/AQBasics/sources.cfm)

Outdoor Sources

Indoor Sources

Effect of Air Pollutants

These pollutants can harm our health and the environment, and cause property damage. 

Further effect of air pollution is greenhouse effect.  The greenhouse effect is when gases absorb the infrared radiation that is released from the Earth, preventing the heat from escaping. This is a natural process that keeps our atmosphere warm. 

Greenhouse Effect

If too many gasses are released into the atmosphere, though, more heat is trapped and this can make the planet artificially warm.

Air pollution kills more than 2 million people each year, according to a study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.  thus, further action need to carry out in order to reduce the effect.  Save the world now, don't wait for avengers.  They are too busy fighting Thanos.

The Avengers

This video is about Air Pollution, Causes, Effects and Solutions (credit to https://www.youtube.com/user/sinthusn)