Our planet Earth
is only a tiny part of the universe, but nowadays it's the only
place where we can live.
People always
polluted their surroundings. But until now pollution was not
such a serious problem. People lived in rural areas and did not
produce such amount of polluting agents that would cause a
dangerous situation in global scale.
With the
development of overcrowded industrial highly developed cities,
which put huge amounts of pollutants into surrounds, the problem
has become more and more dangerous. Today our planet is in
serious danger. Acid rains, global warming, air and water
pollution, and overpopulation are the problems that threaten
human lives on the Earth.
In order to
understand how air pollution affects our body, we must
understand exactly what this pollution is. The pollutants that
harm our respiratory system are known as particulates.
Particulates are the small solid particles that you can see
through rays of sunlight. They are products of incomplete
combustion in engines, for example: internal-combustion engines,
road dust and wood smoke.
Billions of tons
of coal and oil are consumed around the world every year. When
these fuels are burnt, they produce smoke and other by-products,
which is emitted into the atmosphere. Although wind and rain
occasionally wash away the smoke, given off by power plants and
automobiles, but it is not enough.. These chemical compounds
undergo a series of chemical reactions in the presence of
sunlight; as a result we have smog, mixture of fog and smoke.
While such pollutants as particulates we can see, other harmful
ones are not visible. Among the most dangerous to bur health are
carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and ozone or
active oxygen.
If you have ever
been in an enclosed parking garage or a tunnel and felt dizzy or
lightheaded, then you have felt the effect of carbon monoxide
(CO). This odourless, colourless, but poisonous gas is produced
by the incomplete burning of fossil fuels, like gasoline or
diesel fuel.
Factories emit
tons of harmful chemicals. These emissions have disastrous
consequences for our planet. They are the main reason for the
greenhouse effect and acid rains.
Our forests are
disappearing because they are cut down or burnt. If this trend
continues, one day we won't have enough oxygen to breathe, we
won't see a beautiful green forest at all.
The seas are in
danger. They are filled with poison: industrial and nuclear
wastes, chemical fertilizers and pesticides. If nothing is done
about it, one day nothing will be able to live in our seas.
Every ten minutes
one kind of animal, plant or insect dies out forever. If nothing
is done about it, one million species that are alive today may
soon become extinct.
And even greater
threats are nuclear power stations. We all know how tragic the
consequences of the Chernobyl disaster are.
Fortunately, it's
not too late to solve these problems. We have the time, the
money and even the technology to make our planet a better,
cleaner and safer place. We can plant trees and create parks for
endangered animals. We can recycle
our wastes; persuade enterprises to stop polluting activities,
because it is apparent that our careless use of fossil fuels and
chemicals is destroying this planet. And it is now more than
ever apparent that at the same time we are destroying our bodies
and our future.