In a bout of seeing through the darkest clouds
Global warming is not a myth. The Earth is and has been getting destroyed for years on end for many reasons including, but not limited to, the greenhouse effect, the excessive use of fossil fuels, methane released from landfills and agriculture, and gases used for industrial processes. All of these causes are included in the degradation of the air, adding to air pollution. Air pollution is one of the most damaging processes that effect the environment, and is contributed to in excess every single day. Although the consequences of air pollution are barely a second thought to some, air pollution causes personal and environmental problems, which may lead to cancer and the expansion of global warming.
Most air pollution is caused by the constant burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas, which results in many damaging pollutants being released into the air, such as carbon dioxide, monoxide, ozone, and methane. The release of these pollutants infects the air we breathe, alongside the plants, animals, and the environment itself. Acid rain, smog, and haze are all distinctive forms of air pollution that are visible every day. Acid rain is caused when pollutants such as nitrogen and sulfur oxides, mainly from the burning of fossil fuels, are stored in the air, and released in any sort of precipitation, damaging human skin, water, plants, and animals. Haze is the strange unclear vision ahead in a sunny traffic jam caused by gas emissions from cars that distorts your view of the cars head. Gases also cause haze from industrial facilities, power plants, and construction. Smog is this haze mixed with smoke and other pollutants.
In 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) determined air pollution to be a carcinogenic, one that causes cancers varying from cardiovascular, lung, and respiratory. In 2014, WHO estimated that around 7 million people died in 2012 due to exposure to air pollution. That’s 1 in 8 of the total global deaths that year. Even if a personal outcome is not immediately identified, air pollution can directly cause lung and heart problems, reproduction issues, and failure of the immune system. Not only does it affect human beings, it affects both pets and wildlife. Air toxicity affects animals in much the same way as humans: birth defects, reproductive failure, and disease. The air both humans and animals breathe is toxic to all, which in turn affects each other, especially in terms of diet. Toxic air affects animals, which affects predators including humans along with the toxic air humans already breathe.
In the form of haze, smog, or acid rain, the toxicity of breathing air is much more obvious to the naked eye, but in many places it is not as easy to tell. In many places and scenarios, air pollution is all but invisible, so people don’t think about it as they use electricity all day or drive their cars everywhere. Air pollution contribution is not given a second thought because it is added to in such small increments that are part of peoples’ everyday lives. The addition of a single person to pollution in a single may not be very large in a microscopic view, but in a macroscopic view, all of these small contributions come together in term of both the number of people there are in the world adding pollution to the air at the same time, the continuing contribution for the foreseeable future of fossil fuels, and the amount of pollution and irreversible damage air pollution has already caused. The danger of the air is not nearly as apparent as it would be if we could notice it, but it is definitely there and effecting all of us, whether we know it or not.
While these smog, haze, and acid rain are all forms of air pollution that are visible, their effects on the environment may not be. Global warming is the most concerning environmental issue we are dealing with at the moment. Global warming is the increase in Earth's average surface temperature due to rising levels of greenhouse gases. According to National Geographic, many environmental effects are already happening. Ice is melting at an alarming rate at both poles, sea levels are rising, certain animals are expected to become extinct, and precipitation patterns have altered in time and density, setting animals on the move. Thanks to 20 years of warm summers, spruce bark beetles in Alaska have boomed and chewed up 4 million acres of spruce trees. Effects are only expected to get worse. Sea levels are expected to rise another 7-23 inches by the end of the year, hurricanes and other strong storms are expected to become stronger, and both floods and droughts will become more common. All of these environmental changes will greatly affect the wildlife also living in the areas. Ecosystems are guaranteed to change based on the alterations. Animals are expected to migrate based on living conditions such as weather and availability of food, which will further disrupt the rest of the ecosystem in the same way.
There are many ways that we can avoid contributing to air pollution. One of these ways is solar power. Solar power is the production of energy by collecting sunlight and converting it into electricity by the use of solar panels. Solar panels are simply left out in the sun in order to collect solar energy. This takes place mainly in remote locations, but has recently started becoming popular in more urban areas. According to home inspector Bill Barber, one hour of energy from the sun could equal one year of power for the global population. Opposed to the burning of fossil fuels in our everyday lives, solar energy is 100% renewable, and greatly reduces the potential further damages of global warming. According to Alternative Energy News, solar energy is the third most important renewable energy source, after hydro and wind. However, due to many businesses, and a large contribution from capitalism, solar energy is not being taken advantage of as much as it morally should be, even though the estimated savings of solar energy over 20 years is around $16,000.
The only downfall is the limitation of solar energy. While the conversion of solar energy is abundant and continuous when the sun is out, it is not being collected at night, and also depends on weather conditions. However, solar panels collect excess energy that is not used, and can be used throughout the night, depending on how much is collected and how many panels are collecting. Therefore, there should be contemplation when buying solar panels if wanting to become dependent on it. Variables such as location and how much of the year it gets sun should be contemplated. Northern countries, for example, such as northern Canada, Alaska, and Norway, have very long, dark winters, where solar panels may not be as effective as in Australia or even North America. Without the sun, the panels will not be able to collect or store energy, even if panels are collecting for the rest of the sunny year. In Yuma, Arizona, on the other hand, solar panels would be very beneficial, as it has been named the “sunniest place in the world,” enjoying 91% of daylight hours and an average of 4,055 hours of daylight a year, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Air pollution is one of the most detrimental and dangerous second thoughts in the natural world. It has the capacity to kill slowly, both people and their environment. As the human race, we are responsible for taking care of the world we live in, and we are doing a pretty shoddy job at it. The only way to go about beginning to save the air, people, animals, and earth in itself, is to try to reduce the amount of pollution we put into the air ourselves. Solar energy is a start to all these problems.
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