Pollutants are chemicals or substances that render certain resources harmful or unsuitable. When talking about pollutants, the common resources that are impacted are water and air. Both of these resources are needed for survival. Smog is an air pollutant that has caused problems across the globe. In order to tae any action on fighting smog pollution on an individual or community level, it is important to understand what it is and what it does.
Smog is a conglomeration of chemicals that can be individually or collectively be harmful to humans and the environment. Smog is composed of nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, ozone, smoke, carbon monoxide, and radioactive sources. Some of these chemicals are visible, which is why smog pollution can be seen in the air. Smog is formed from a variety of activities and events, but the most common culprits are vehicle emission, coal emissions, industrial emissions, and forest fires. Sometimes, the smog produced by one activity or event is combined with another, which may or may not make the smog more toxic and harmful (Kelly, 2015).
While components of smog are considered point-source pollutants, or pollutants coming from one source, smog is technically a nonpoint-source pollutant because it is a a combination of many different chemicals. Nonpoint-source pollutants also tend to cause problems on a wider scale, which is exactly what smog does.
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As a pollutant, smog causes damage and harm to people and the environment. Ultimately, the impact of smog on the human race is premature death. In general, air pollution has surpassed water pollution concerning the amount of deaths caused. Some specific health issues that smog causes are lower respiratory irritations and infections, aggravated asthma symptoms or the development of asthma, lung damage, and general difficulty in breathing. Some people are more resistant than others to the effects of smog, but particularly high risk demographics include children, senior citizens, and people with pre-existing respiratory conditions (Kelly, 2015). Smog also suppresses the growth of plants, causes infection in animals, and inflicts damage on crops such as wheat, tomatoes, peanuts, and many more (Zhang, 2015). By impacting these different aspects of the environment, the negative effects are exacerbated. For example, humans already experience harmful effects directly, but they also encounter contaminated crops and livestock as a result of smog.
It has become increasingly important to address the smog problem worldwide. In America, various pieces of legislation have been passed in order to reduce the production of smog. The Clean Air Act, passed in 1970, allows for the targeting of the biggest sources of air pollution. By identifying specific industries and activities, regulating them, and enforcing those regulations, the United States has been able to dramatically reduce the production on smog over the past several decades. Other countries such as the United Kingdom have implemented their own methods for reducing the production of smog, while countries like China have lagged. China has passed legislation concerning better air quality since 1982, but they have not been as strict and have had a more difficult time with implementation. Their fast rate of development has made it significantly more difficult to keep up with Western air quality standards (Zhang, 2015).
Many programs in different countries have been established to help educate and inform businesses and citizens about the effects of smog and how to avoid producing it. RECLAIM, a program developed in the Southwest cost of America, has educational programs and testing methods to help inform and gage progress in regards to smog production (Kelly, 2015). In China, Greenpeace has provided many resources to educate and inform the public about the smog problem and what they can do to help relieve it. They have even set up a way to donate to their cause so that more research and education is possible (Zhang, 2015). New technologies have also been developed, specifically for factories and vehicles, to reduce chemical output and ultimately reduce smog production (Kelly, 2015).
Smog is a major problem that we face in today’s world, but action is being taken; however, even more education, legislation, and implementation is crucial. It might be a race against time, so it is important for industries, businesses, and individuals to get educated and take action however they can in order to reduce smog production and reclaim good air quality.
- Kelly, F. J., & Fussell, J. C. (2015). Air pollution and public health: emerging hazards and improved understanding of risk. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 37(4), 631–649. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-015-9720-1
- Zhang, J. (Jim), & Samet, J. M. (2015). Chinese haze versus Western smog: lessons learned. Journal of Thoracic Disease, 7(1), 3–13. http://doi.org/10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2014.12.06
