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What is Air?
Air is the Earth's atmosphere. Air around us is a mixture of many gases and dust particles. It is
the clear gas in which living things live and breathe. It has an indefinite shape and volume. It has
no color or smell. It has mass and weight, because it is matter. The weight of air creates
atmospheric pressure. There is no air in outer space.
Air Polliution is the pollution of air by smoke and harmful gases, mainly oxides of carbon,
sulphur, and nitrogen.
Many of the world's large cities today have bad air quality. Even 2,000 years ago, the Romans
were complaining about the bad air in their cities. At that time, the air was thick with smoke
from fires and the smell of sewers. Air pollution has been a danger to human health and Earth's
many ecosystems for a long time.
Millions of Americans live in areas where urban smog, particle pollution, and toxic
pollutants pose serious health concerns. People exposed to high enough le
vels of
certain air pollutants may experience:
Irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat
Wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and breathing difficulties
Worsening of existing lung and heart problems, such as asthma
Increased risk of heart attack
In addition, long-term exposure to air pollution can cause cancer and damage to the
immune, neurological, reproductive, and respiratory systems. In extreme cases, it can
even cause death.
We have far more oil, coal and gas than we can safely burn. For all the millions of words written
about climate change, the challenge really comes down to this: fuel is enormously useful,
massively valuable and hugely important geopolitically, but tackling global warming means
leaving most of it in the ground – by choice. Although we often hear more about green
technology, consumption levels or population growth, leaving fuel in the ground is the crux of
the issue. After all, the climate doesn't know or care how much renewable or nuclear energy
we've got, how efficient our cars and homes are, how many people there are, or even how we run
the economy. It only cares how much globe-warming pollution we emit – and that may be
curiously immune to the measures we usually assume will help.