Climate & clean energy programmes at Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) director John Walke says that energy use as well as production is the primary source of air pollution. In the process of burning fossil fuels, gases and chemicals are released into the atmosphere. Furthermore, air pollution is not only a contributor to climate change, and it is also aggravated by it. A rise in Earth’s temperature is a direct result of carbon dioxide as well as methane emissions from human activity, according to Walke. Smog, another form of air pollution that is worsened by increased heat and more ultraviolet radiation, can form as a result. Mold (due to the damp conditions caused by severe weather as well as increased flooding) and pollen production are also increasing as a result of climate change.

Air Pollution’s Negative Effects on Human Health

Exposure duration and level, as well as other factors such as a person’s personal health risks and multiple pollutants or stressors, all have an impact on the human body’s response to air pollution.

Smog and Ash

In terms of air pollution, these are two of the most common types. Fossil fuel combustion emissions react with sunlight to produce smog (also known as ground-level ozone). In the form either of gas or solids, particulate matter (also known as soot) is carried in the air by tiny particles of compounds, soil, smoke, dust or allergens. Smog and soot originate from the same sources. Walke explains that “everything that catches fire fossil fuels like coal, gas, as well as natural gas” is a source of carbon dioxide emissions.

Children, the elderly, and those who spend a lot of time outside working or exercising can be particularly affected by smog, which can cause irritation to their eyes and throats as well as lung damage. Asthma and allergy sufferers are particularly vulnerable to the effects of these additional pollutants, which can worsen their symptoms as well as trigger asthma attacks. Toxic effects of soot’s tiniest airborne particles, whether gaseous as well as solid, include worsening bronchitis, causing heart attacks, or even hastening death. 

People living in low-income neighbourhoods and communities of colour have historically been more affected by pollution from highways as well as polluting facilities because of this. On average, Asian Americans were exposed to soot at a 34 percent higher rate than other Americans, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists in 2019. For African Americans, the rate of exposure was 24% higher, and for Latinos, 23% higher. Visit here to know about Methods for Disposing of Household Waste.

Pollutants in the atmosphere can cause health problems

In small amounts, an amount of air toxins pose a health risk and can be fatal. Mercury, lead, dioxins, as well as benzene are just a few of the hundreds of substances that are subject to federal regulation. When burning gas or coal or incinerating, “these are also emitted,” says Walke. “In the case of benzene, they are also found in gasoline.” Eye, skin, as well as lung irritation can occur in the short-term due to exposure to benzene, which is classified as just a carcinogen but by EPA. Acute exposure to dioxins, which are more predominantly reported in food but can also be found in small amounts there in air, can have a detrimental effect on the liver and other organs in the short term, as well. The brain and spinal cord are both vulnerable to mercury’s effects. Lead can harm children’s brains and kidneys in large doses, and even small amounts can have a negative impact on a child’s IQ as well as ability to learn.

Aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are another class of car exhaust and wildfire smoke contaminants. When consumed in large quantities, they have been shown to cause irritation of the eyes, lungs, and blood and liver, as well as cancer. People exposed to PAHs all through pregnancy have children with slower brain processing velocities and more prominent symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Thermogenic gases

Climate change’s hallmarks, such as rising sea levels, extra frequent and intense storms and heat-related deaths, are made possible by greenhouse gases trapping the planet’s heat in the atmosphere. Methane made up 10% of the country’s total emissions in 2018, accounting for 81% of the total. Methane is released all through oil and gas drilling, and carbon dioxide is released when fossil fuels are burned. “Carbon dioxide comes from fossil fuel combustion, as well as methane comes from industrial and natural sources,” says Walke. Carbon dioxide is a more potent greenhouse gas, but methane is even more destructive because of its potency. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are a different class of greenhouse gas with thousands of times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide. Over 140 countries signed an agreement in October 2016 to decrease the use of such chemicals in air conditioners as well as refrigerators and develop more environmentally friendly alternatives in the future. In 2020, a bipartisan committee of senators overrode President Trump’s objections to this agreement and set the The Us on a path to reduce HFC emissions 85 percent by 2035. “The agreed-to HFC phasedown would then avoid the equal amount of more than 80 billion tonnes of co2 over the next 35 years,” says David Doniger, high ranking strategic director of NRDC’s Climate as well as Clean Energy programme.

135 million people in the United States live in counties to unhealthy air pollution levels according to the American Lung Association’s 2021 State of a Air report (ALA). Every year since the Clean Air Act’s first publication in 2000, the findings of the annual report have shown how transportation, power plants, as well as manufacturing have been able to decrease harmful emissions.

Public health challenges are being exacerbated by climate change-fueled wildfires and extreme heat, according to recent findings from researchers. People of colour are 61 times more likely than white humans to survive in a county with such a bad grade in at least one of the three categories of ozone, year-round particulate emissions, or short-term particle pollution, according to the latest report.

Despite significant gains made in the Golden State over the last half-century, California cities consistently rank in the top three for each of the three types of pollution measured by the ALA report (i.e., they had the highest pollution levels). Contrasting this are the cleanest cities in the United States, such as Burlington (Vermont), Honolulu (Hawaii), and Wilmington (North Carolina). Using this map, you can see how bad the air is in your city or state. Also Read Landfills in United States.

Contamination of Outdoor Air and Environmental Fairness

Near a refineries, port, toxic waste disposal or other polluting facility is something no one wishes to live next to. Despite this, millions of people across the world smoke, which increases their risk of respiratory disease, heart disease, brain damage, cancer, as well as death. According to the ALA, people of colour in the U.s are 1.5 twice as likely to live in regions to poor air quality than whites.

As a result of racist zoning policies and redlining, communities of colour, particularly poor as well as working-class communities of colour, have become sacrifice zones where inhabitants are forced to breathe polluted air and suffer the many health issues associated with it. People who live in these communities face additional economic harm, including missed workdays, greater medical costs, and underinvestment in their communities.

Cities as well as industrial areas aren’t the only places where racism against the environment occurs. As migrant and temporary farmworkers with in United States are some of the most susceptible to air pollution, they are also some of the least able to exert pressure on their employers as well as lawmakers to defend their right to inhale clean air.

Using information on environmental conditions but also demographics, cumulative impact mapping has recently been able to display how some towns are overburdened with strands of issues, such as high levels of poverty, underemployment, or pollution. It’s been clear for decades, thanks to the Environmental Protection Screening Test and the EPA’s EJSCREEN, that we still need land-use and population health reforms to make sure that vulnerable spots really aren’t overburdened and those who need resources the most get them.

Keeping Air Pollution Under Control

Fossil-fuel interests, aided by industry-friendly legislators, have frequently tried to weaken the Clean Air Act’s many protection mechanisms in the United States since its inception in 1970. Maintaining good our air quality will always depend on keeping this fundamental environmental law in place and enforcing it as intended.

It’s also critical that we speed up our transformation to cleaner fuels as well as industrial processes, which will have the greatest impact on air pollution. Renewable energy sources (wind, solar, etc.) can help us reduce air pollution while also reducing the warming that exacerbates many of its most harmful health effects. Increasingly, we’ll be replacing our gasoline-powered trucks and cars to electric models.

What about the financial implications of reducing air pollution? NRDC commissioned a study on the Clean Air Act, which found that the spent at least of cleaner air outweighed the costs of clean-air regulations by up to 32 times. Up to 370,000 unnecessary deaths, 189,000 fewer cardio – respiratory illnesses, as well as net financial advantages of up to $3.8 trillion again for U.S. economy every year, are among the benefits.

Reduce Air Pollution: What You Can Do

To lessen air pollution and the adverse effects of global warming we must use less gasoline, says Walke. “When it comes to transportation, make wise decisions. Take public transportation whenever possible if you can. You can either get more miles per gallon by driving a gas-efficient vehicle, or you can get an electric vehicle. As an alternative, readers may even be able to demand that your power be generated using wind or solar power. Buying locally reduces the amount of fossil fuels needed to transport food across the country. To that end, “Support those pushing for clean air, including elected officials,” says Walke.