Air Pollutants

With the rise in climate change, it is important to understand what the rise in air pollutants in the atmosphere is doing to our planet. Being able to recognize which compounds in the air are harmful and what they do to the environment we live in. Carbon dioxide, methane, and sulfur dioxide are a few air pollutants that are extremely prominent and harmful in the air.

National Geographic states that carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is the main pollutant that is warming Earth. Though living things emit carbon dioxide when they breathe, carbon dioxide is widely considered to be a pollutant when associated with cars, planes, power plants, and other human activities that involve the burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline and natural gas. In the past 150 years, such activities have pumped enough carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to raise its levels higher than they have been for hundreds of thousands of years.

Other greenhouse gases include methane—which comes from such sources as swamps and gas emitted by livestock—and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were used in refrigerants and aerosol propellants until they were banned because of their deteriorating effect on Earth's ozone layer.

Another pollutant associated with climate change is sulfur dioxide, a component of smog. Sulfur dioxide and closely related chemicals are known primarily as a cause of acid rain. But they also reflect light when released in the atmosphere, which keeps sunlight out and causes Earth to cool. Volcanic eruptions can spew massive amounts of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, sometimes causing cooling that lasts for years. In fact, volcanoes used to be the main source of atmospheric sulfur dioxide; today people are.

Air pollutants can be defined as either indoor or outdoor air pollutants and are classified as mixture of natural and man-made substances that are within the air we breathe. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences discusses the differences between indoor and outdoor air pollution by stating,  that outdoor air pollution involves exposures that take place outside of the built environment.

Examples include: 

Fine particles produced by the burning of fossil fuels (i.e. the coal and petroleum used in traffic and energy production)

Noxious gases (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, chemical vapors, etc.)

Ground-level ozone (a reactive form of oxygen and a primary component of urban smog)

Tobacco smoke

Indoor air pollution involves exposures to particulates, carbon oxides, and other pollutants carried by indoor air or dust. 

Examples include:

Gases (carbon monoxide, radon, etc.)

Household products and chemicals

Building materials (asbestos, formaldehyde, lead, etc.)

Outdoor indoor allergens (cockroach and mouse dropping, etc.)

Tobacco smoke

Mold and pollen

In some instances, outdoor air pollution can make its way indoors by way of open windows, doors, ventilation, etc.

Health effects are identifiable from exposure to air pollutants. In places such as China, the air pollution is so bad, smog covers the atmosphere making the air quality extremely poor and dangerous to breathe in. Spare the Air indicates that high pollution problems can cause immediate health problems and long term exposure can have permanent health effects. "High air pollution levels can cause immediate health problems:

Aggravated cardiovascular and respiratory illness

Added stress to heart and lungs, which must work harder to supply the body with oxygen

Damaged cells in the respiratory system

Long-term exposure to polluted air can have permanent health effects:

Accelerated aging of the lungs

Loss of lung capacity

Decreased lung function

Development of diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, and possibly cancer

Shortened life span.