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AIR POLLUTION |
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Air Pollution
from power plants, vehicles and industrial facilities takes myriad forms.
A quarter of the world's population lives in areas with health-threatening
levels of air pollutants. Persistent organic pollutants, such as PCBs
and DDT, accumulate in living organisms and may cause cancer. Acid rain,
formed by oxides of sulfur and nitrogen, damages crops, forests, and aquatic
life, and corrodes builidings. Carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping
gases threaten to disrupt global climate, and chlorine- and bromine-contaning
compounds in the stratosphere destroy the ozone that shields Earth from
dangerous levels of ultraviolet radiation.
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Specific
measures to combat individual pollutants are insufficient; an isolated
response to one threat can actually worsen another. For instance, sulfate
aerosols contribute to acid rain but mask greenhouse warning, so a decline
in sulfur emissions from fossil fuel burning without a decrease in carbon
output exacerbates climate change. The ultimate solution lies in reforming
the world's pollution-generating energy, transportation and industrial
systems.
Molly O’Meara Staff Researcher Worldwatch Institute |
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