¶ … Air We Breath Contrary to the popular phrase "I'll go out for some fresh air," one might ask is the present air that we are breathing is still fresh? Or, has this phrase become irrelevant the present day world. Air pollution has been very evident ever since history entered industrial revolution. By the time we step our foot on our doorstep, the moment we open the doors of our car, the very first instance that we pull up the drapes and open our window, we are experiencing air pollution at its finest ....so to speak. Smoke billowing from a factory chimney, fly-ash generated by thermal power plants, and speeding cars causing dust to rise from the roads, smokes from cigarettes, and the list would go on and on. If there is a drawback when we speak of modern day technology it is the pollution it emits into the very air we inhale into our lungs. Even our dear mother-nature also contributes in a certain way in this menaced phenomenon. When a volcano erupts, it emits foreign particles and ash in the air. Will we be able to fix this global problem or are we meant to live and leave this earth constantly experiencing the same problem.

Defining Air Pollution

A pollution control agency in the U.S. gives the simplest and usual definition of air pollution as;

"The presence in the atmosphere of one or more contaminants in such quality and for such duration as is injurious, or tends to be injurious, to human health or welfare, animal or plant life.' It is the contamination of air by the discharge of harmful substances.

In its simplest form, air pollution is dangerous, harmful and bad for our health, not only to us humans but to every living being on earth. Both man-made and natural phenomenon are slowly destroying...

This happens in the damages it is bringing forth to our environment and our property, not to mention the bad effects it causes to our health and well being. It has also caused the thinning of the protective ozone layer of the atmosphere, which is leading to climate change.
Modernization and progress both in science and technology have made air getting more and more polluted through the passing of time. Industries, vehicles, increase in the population, and urbanization are some of the major factors responsible for air pollution. The following industries are among those that emit a great deal of pollutants into the air: thermal power plants, cement, steel, refineries, petro chemicals, and mines.

Pollution in general is due to the activities of man and the effects that they are bringing to our society and our environment. Air pollution, however, is the most vital among other natural aspects of this topic.

Air pollution is derived from a variety of causes, not all of which are within human control. Dust storms in desert areas and smoke from forest fires and grass fires contribute to chemical and particulate pollution of the air. But this only contributes to a fraction of the actual cause of pollution. It is primarily man and its technology that is causing this global problem. Ironically, the primary cause is also experiencing its harmful effects.

Air Pollution and Our Health

In a recent study conducted by an agency of the World Health Organization, air pollution is one of the…