Proposal - Problem

Air Pollution

A multitude of diseases are contaminating young children in cities concentrated with smog. A haze in the air mixed with air pollutants is called smog, a thick and toxic smoke cloud. Air pollution is caused by humans primarily through manufacturing. Living in industrialized cities exposes you to the product of manufacturing. “Particulate matter and chemicals” are spewed into the atmosphere by large companies such as the coal industry [1]. When coal is burned to produce electricity, for example, carbon dioxide and mercury are shot up into the air. Other toxic compounds that contribute to industrial smog include “carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, and volatile particulates,” that flow free into the air we breathe through the combustion of fossil fuels [1]. Coal, oil, and natural gas are common fossil fuels that humans utilize daily to drive their cars and turn on their heaters. These dirty gases and particulates that are discharged into the atmosphere are harmful to humans in many ways. Air pollution is a serious problem because it harms millions of people’s health. When exposed to the compounds that make up industrial smog, people's nervous systems, respiratory systems, and cardiovascular systems are at jeopardy.

Industrialized areas of the world thrive with big business and smokestack factories but suffer from dense clouds of smog. According to research conceived by the National Resources Defense Council, developed cities, such as Los Angeles, experience exposure to increasing levels of toxic particles that people aren’t aware of [2]. A problem related to this is that parents don’t know what the pollution is doing to their children. Kids are particularly prone to air pollution because their “lungs are growing and because they are so active,” says the American Lung Association [3]. Because they are active, they spend much of their time outdoors breathing in large amounts of pollution. 

Global warming, a dangerous phenomenon that refers to the increasing temperatures of planet Earth’s surface, is directly related to air pollution. To make matters worse, “increasing temperatures speed the process [of air pollution] and result in more smog.” This is a problem because even with pollution-control laws, millions of people in developing and developed nations still face “permanent respiratory diseases [3].” The group of people most vulnerable to pollution in the air are the ones who have asthma and allergies. Rising smog in big cities “heightens sensitivity to allergens, impairs lungs, triggers asthma attacks, and often sends people to the hospital [3].” Air pollution is only increasing in the future if nothing changes today. Laws like the Clean Air Act have been enacted to reduce air pollution and have mitigated the issue, but cases of toxic smog creating respiratory diseases and damaging children’s lungs keep appearing more consistently [3]. Nature used to be a clean haven as opposed to facilities that concentrate chemicals indoors; however, the outside world is becoming just as polluted.

Brief solution:
A solution to reducing air pollution even more is to take more drastic measures regarding laws. By making the public more aware of the consequences of living in cities engulfed in smog, an organization (of which I haven't decided yet) could gather petitions to enact a law forbidding certain polluting acts (of which I haven't decided yet) and either promoting stunning incentives or imposing unrelenting punishment.