When people think about air pollution or smog they think of big cities and places far away, like Beijing for the summer olympics this year where smog was a serious problem leading up to the games for the athletes. But the truth is, smog is a serious problem for everyone, and poses serious health effects for all of us.
Technically smog is a combination of of the words smoke and fog and nowadays is generally a result of car emmissions reactiong with the atmosphere and you can see it when its hit by sunlight. After doing a little reading on the internet i found out how much of a problem smog can be. Some large metropolitian areas around te world seiously affected by smog are London, Mexico City, Tehran, Los Angeles, and many places in Indochina. This type of heavy air pollution seriously affects the elderly, children, and people with cardiovascular conditions such as asthma or emphysema. Smog can irritate the eyes, nose and lungs, and cause shortness of breath and coughing. Specifically in the nasal passages it can dry out the protective membranes in the nose and interfere with the bodys ability to fight off infections, making people more susceptibility to getting sick. It is a fact that respiratory deaths are always increased when there are increased levels of smog in a certain place. The last piece of information that perhaps is most inportant is that smog is responsible for depleting the ozone layer that protects the earth from the suns damaging UV rays. Once the ozone layer is depleted or destroyed in a certain area it can not be replaced and this is a very serious problem we are trying to deal with.
This blog was simply written to inform you about smog, and the harmful effects it can have, and perhaps we can find a way in the future of reducing of emmissions and tackling the serious smog problem we all face.
5 comments:
One of the reasons I'm really interested in the upcoming presidental election is the issue of energy and pollution. It's definitely going to be a problem that our generation is going to have to deal with. All of those points are really good, but just the fact that everyone should be breathing clean air is important.
Your write up was really interesting, One of the reasons of air pollution is because of the growing population. This lead Congress to pass the Clean Air Act in 1970 and to amend it in 1977 and again in 1990. The object of this was to develop standards for six of the most widespread air pollutants that seriously affect health: sulfur dioxide, particulates, carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen oxide, and lead. I looked up some ways that people cam preserve the environment. 1. ride your bike or walk rather than take a car. 2. Carpool with others. 3. Save fuel by only using the air conditioner in extreme conditions. 4. Turn off a light when the room isn't being used. 5. Make sure the washing machine is full before running a wash. 6. Purchase biodegradable soaps and detergents. 7. Use silverware at home rather than plastic. 8. Recycle 9. Don't run water continuously when washing dishes, shaving, or brushing teeth. These are just a few simple ways to help out yourself with the environmental problems. People need to realize that they can make a difference in contributing to the health of the planet.
Reference: Health The Basics by Rebecca J. Donatelle
Great dialogue. Keep up the good work.
I really enjoyed reading your blog. I did realize how hazardous the air was to our health although never really thought about it. Kerry, in regards to your post, I like your ways to preserve the environment and better our own health as well as our worlds. There are ways to help this huge problem, although can it actually be completely fixed? How will the new president fix this continuously growing problem?
wow this scares me. im so glad i dont live out in california or other areas where it is filled with smog. i think peple today are becoming more carefull and carpooling and driving less when they can.
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