Have you ever heard about air pollution or worried about how it can affect the environment? Many people can go days without food and water but need air to stay alive. In 1970, Congress created the Environment of Protection Agency, better known as the EPA, and amended the Clean Air Act, which authorizes the EPA to develop and enforce regulations regarding air pollution in this country. Therefore, the EPA has helped change our lives.

Breathing polluted air makes people sick. According to the EPA, each of us breathes over 3,000 gallons of air each day. However, according to the EPA, polluted air can irritate your eye, and nostrils and make you sick. The most important fact is that polluted air makes breathing difficult.

Pollutants like tiny, airborne particles can worsen pulmonary problems for kids with asthma. According to the EPA, “Today, nearly 30 million adults, and children have been diagnosed with asthma.” Air pollution can also make health problems worse for elderly citizens.

Some chemicals released in the air from petroleum companies are super toxic and can cause birth defects and skin cancer, as well as damage brain vessels. For example, when the United States used an atomic bomb on Japan during World War II, thousands of Japanese people died due to the toxic chemicals the atomic bomb contained.

According to the EPA, air pollution also has serious effects on the environment. It can damage trees, crops, parks, buildings, monuments and even statues.  Toxic pollutants are not just a threat to our health, but toxic pollutants and acid chemicals can also damage trees, crops, lakes and pools. Each day, air pollution causes thousands of illnesses, leading to lost days at work and school.

According to the National Geographic, any substance that people introduce into the atmosphere that has damaging effects on living things and the environment is considered air pollution. For example, carbon dioxide is the main pollutant that is warming the Earth. Although living things emit carbon dioxide when they breathe, carbon dioxide is considered to be a pollutant, along with cars, planes and other human activities that involve burning fossils fuels such as gasoline and natural gas.