Air pollution is the accumulation in the atmosphere of substances that in high enough concentrations, endanger human health and produce harmful effects on living organisms and other materials. Smog has seriously affected more people than any other type of air pollution. It is caused by water condensing on smoke particles, usually from burning coal. As a coal economy has gradually been replaced by a petroleum economy, photochemical smog has become a problem in many cities. It results from the irradiation by sunlight of hydrocarbons and other pollutants in the air. Oxides of sulfur and hydrogen, carried long distances by the atmosphere and then precipitated in solution as acid rain, can cause very serious damage for vegetation, waterways, and buildings. Pollutants also come from other sources such as decomposing garbage in landfills and solid waste disposal sites which emit methane gas, and many household products. Some of the pollutants also come from natural sources. Many emit particulates and volatile organic chemicals(VOC’s) into the atmosphere. Ultrafine dust particles, dislodged by soil erosion when water and weather loosen layers of soil, increase airborne particulate levels.
Some end of the pipe devices that capture pollutants are used and they limit the quantity of pollutants produced. Some of them include catalyc converters in cars and various kinds of filters in industrial plants. But some of the choices that we make in our daily lives can also have a significant impact on the state of the air. Using public transportation and carpooling always helps. During periods of particular intense smog, authorities often urge people to avoid trips by car. To encourage this, many times public transportation is made temporarily free.
The building of dams actually contribute to the reduction of air pollution. One of the major benefits of a dam is the production of hydroelectric energy. Hydropower is the most plentiful and most efficient renewable energy source. With the energy created by dams, the equivalent of 520 million barrels of oil, 129 million tons of coal, or 3.16 trillion cubic feet of gas would be needed to match it.
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