subject: Carbon Credit Mall - Air Pollution Effects on Environment [print this page] Along with harming human health, air pollution can cause a variety of environmental effects. What, then, are the different air pollution effects on environment?
First, acid rain is a form of precipitation that is formed primarily by nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned. These acids fall to the earth either as wet precipitation (rain, snow, or fog) or dry precipitation (gas and particulates). In the environment, acid rain damages trees and causes soils and water bodies to acidify. Therefore, it contaminates drinking water and vegetation, and makes the water unsuitable for some fish and other wildlife. Acid rain damages aquatic life. In fact, it has damages Massachussets lakes, ponds, rivers, and soils, leading to damaged wildlife and forests. It also erodes buildings, and speeds the decay of statues and sculptures that are part of our national heritage.
Another effect is ozone depletion. Ozone is a gas that occurs both at ground-level and in the earth's upper atmosphere, known as the stratosphere. Ozone forms a layer that protects life on earth from the sun's harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. However, man-made chemicals like chlorofluorocarbons and halons deplete the ozone layer, causing increased amounts of UV radiation to reach the earth. A recently discovered result of air pollution are seasonal holes in the ozone layer in the atmosphere above Antarctica and the Arctic, coupled with growing evidence of global ozone depletion. This depletion can damage sensitive crops, such as soybeans, and reduce crop yields. It can also lead to more cases of skin cancer, cataracts, and impaired immune systems.
Finally, air pollution causes global climate change. By burning fossil fuels, we are producing what is known as the greenhouse effect. The earth's atmosphere appears to be trapping more of the sun's heat, causing the earth's average temperature to rise in what we call global warming.
These are three examples of air pollution effects on environment.
