Air Pollution and Global Warming

Global warming is a phenomenon that has the world scared and it’s about time too. Fear is also necessary sometimes as it protects us from harm and self destruction. Take for example a kid that has got burnet. It would fear putting its hand in the fire again, where fear is necessary for self protection. Similarly, if the collective psyche and conscience of the world is awakened and people take up cudgels against global warming, the world would be a much better place to live in. in fact, this could save the day for us and our children. Many countries around the world are now taking up green issues much more seriously and a lot of the success of eco-friendly measures actually depends on wide-spread people participation to make the movement broad-based.

When we talk of global warming, it makes sense to refer to and consider the harmful effects of air pollution in this context. The earth is fit to live in because of the atmosphere that covers it protectively and the unique mixture of gases that make it suitable for life. Oxygen gives life to al creatures above, on and even below the earth and in its dissolved form gives life to marine life as well. When we talk of air pollution we must realize that the pollution of the air has come with the industrial revolution that spread from Europe across the globe after the 19th century. With the industrial and vehicular development that took the world by storm, human started burning fossil fuels for industry, transportation and more massively for electricity generation. Even now many countries like India and China which are huge economies depend severely on coal which is a dirty energy source for electricity generation. This releases particulate mater into the air especially carbon dioxide and monoxide as well as many other noxious and polluting gases.

One of the major fallouts of air pollution is that it contributes to global warming as the sources of air pollution also help release CO2 (carbon dioxide) which makes the earth like a greenhouse that retains the heat of the sun and causes global warming. The earth is becoming like a tinder box and the flora and faun are becoming suffocated and stifled, like a slow poison that refuses to go away. Air pollution also depleted the ozone that keeps the harmful ultra-violet rays of the sun in check. There are now huge pockets of ozone depletion in the southern hemisphere, over Australia, which are causing many cases of skin cancer and many other diseases.

Air pollution causes global warming and makes diseases like asthma and other respiratory ailments commonplace. These have immense fallouts for millions of people around the world especially kids and the aged. In many cities of the world, air pollution has reached such levels that it may be needed to use air masks for preserving one’s health. In a world where people use energy indiscriminately, especially in the developed world, carelessness of a few can potentially harm the many.