Persuasive Essay On Air Pollution

Terrorism. Gun control. Global warming. These words receive more media coverage and grab people’s attention a lot more than air pollution. It is easy to dismiss air pollution as insignificant, but environmental air pollution is slowly becoming one of the world’s biggest issues. In fact, a recent study shows that air pollution has replaced poor diet as the world’s largest preventable health risk (Pentland). For this reason, the government should invest significantly more capital into reducing environmental air pollution than any other threats to humanity because it would cost more to fix the damage that it is currently causing to public health than the money needed to prevent it in the first place.

Air pollution is the insertion of harmful particles into the Earth's atmosphere, which is a complex system essential to support life on Earth. One type of air pollution is known as indoor pollution. There are many causes of indoor air pollution, but the leading ones include overuse of pesticides, household products, tobacco, and any other products that release toxic gases or particles. “Indoor air pollution from biomass and coal fuels affects one half of the world population, and about 80% in low-income countries of Africa and South Asia” (CHERG). In fact, more than 2.9 billion people burn wood and charcoal to perform daily routines. According to The World Health Organization (WHO), 4.3 million people in 2012 have lost their lives due to indoor air pollution. When comparing this to other major issues such as global warming, studies “suggest that between 30 and 150 times more people are killed due to indoor air pollution than global warming” (Lomborg).

The second type of air pollution is known as outdoor pollution. The causes include ...

... middle of paper ...

... mills and a zinc smelting plant that had released excessive amounts of sulphuric acid, carbon monoxide and other pollutants into the atmosphere for years prior to the disaster” (History Channel). In October 26, 1948, the heavy fog in Donora seemed to have “trapped the airborne pollutants emitted from the zinc smelting plant and steel mills close to the ground, where they were inhaled by the local residents.” The owner of the zinc plant, Zinc Works, paid off local residents for damages caused by the pollution. Residents and farmers filed lawsuits totaling more than $4.6 million against U.S. Steel for the loss of crops and livestock. In 1951, a settlement was reached and the steel company paid about $235,000. The heavy smog killed about 20 people and made thousands more extremely ill over a five-day period mainly from hydrogen fluoride and sulfur dioxide poisoning.