Air pollution
I.
Introduction
Air Pollution,
addition of harmful substances to the atmosphere resulting damage to
the environment, human health, and quality of life. One of many forms of
pollution, air pollution occurs inside homes, schools, and offices; in cities;
across continents; and even globally. Air pollution makes people sick—it causes
breathing problems and promotes cancer—and it harms plants, animals, and the
ecosystems in which they live. Cambodia is a developing country in Southeast Asian. It has cross the war
firing for many years. Right now it left the war and became independent in
1993, therefore People are still poor. Government and people need income and
almost resources have been used for developing the country that why some
resources were destroyed.
There are many resources in our country such as trees;
fish, lands water and the other were lost. Because of losing many resources it
makes climate change in our country and it also has a lot of problem happen in
our country. The main problem is the air pollution; it is a serious disaster
that makes people easy to get sick because air is the ocean we breathe. Air
supplies us with oxygen which is essential for our bodies to live, if
the air pollutes how people can live. Therefore, we find that it is so
interesting to learn and search it. we choose this topic, because we think that
it is important to give the other people know and understand about the
environment what the cause and effect of air pollution that it can make us
became destroy; if we don’t protect and care about our nature, it will became
the main serious disaster in our country.
II.
How air pollution begin
In order to settle this case problem,
I divided my essay in three parts: Part one I give the definition of air
pollution, Part two I will give the cause, effect and solution of air pollution
and finally is my conclusion.
I give the definition of the word air
pollution, it means presence
of contaminants or pollutant
substances in the air that interfere with human health or welfare, or produce other harmful
environmental effects.
Most air pollution comes
from one human activity: burning fossil fuels—natural gas, coal, and oil—to
power industrial processes, cutting trees, using old vehicles, old electricity and
also Pollution also come
inside our homes, offices, and schools. Some of these pollutants can
be created by indoor activities such as smoking and cooking. In the Cambodia,
we spend about 80-90% of our time inside buildings, and so our exposure to
harmful indoor pollutants can be serious. It is therefore important to consider
both indoor and outdoor air pollution. . Among the harmful chemical compounds
this burning puts into the atmosphere are carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide,
nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and tiny solid particles—including lead from
gasoline additives—called particulates.
Cutting the trees is also the main point that
causes the air pollution because 50% of a tree is composed of carbon, trees represent one of
the best ways to extract carbon (which enters the tree as CO2) from
the air, and role of tree is to absorb the carbon dioxide. Before, Cambodia had lots of tree. But now the tree was destroyed by the
people who have power to cut the tree sale it to other countries. After
destroyed all tree, especially in Rannakiri before that place is full of the
tree but now became the place that less tress, the climate in Cambodia started
change, because the tree absorb Carbone dioxide and produce the Oxygen if they
are no tree so, it will make air pollution increase.
Pollution sources tend to be concentrated, however,
especially in cities. In the weather phenomenon known as thermal inversion, a
layer of cooler air is trapped near the ground by a layer of warmer air above.
When this occurs, normal air mixing almost ceases and pollutants are trapped in
the lower layer.
“Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. ©
1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.”
Air pollutants are classified as either primary
or secondary. A primary pollutant is one that is released directly to the air,
such as the carbon monoxide from combustion. A secondary pollutant is formed in
the atmosphere through chemical
reactions of primary pollutants. The formation of troposphere
ozone is an example of secondary air pollution. The atmosphere is a
complex, dynamic and fragile system. Concern is growing about the global
effects of air pollutant emissions, especially health
effects, climate
change, and the effects of pollution on crops.
Stratospheric
ozone depletion due to air pollution has long been recognized as a
threat to human health. http://www.windows2universe.org/milagro/air/airpollution_intro.html
Moreover, Cambodia is a developing country ,so people need to use more
demand of vehicle increase and use a lots of old vehicle in the country
especially in the city. There are a lots people in the city some family use old
motorbikes, tuk-tuks and old cars as the transportation. In Cambodia,
the term tuk-tuk is used to refer to a motorcycle with a cabin attached to the
rear. Cambodian cities have a much lower volume of automobile traffic than Thai
cities, and tuk-tuks are still the most common form of urban transport. At the
temple complex of Angkor,
for example, tuk-tuks provide a convenient form of transport around the complex
for tourists. One can hire a tuk-tuk and driver by the day. One more things,
most city use more air-conditionals, refrigerators that tend to pollute
atmosphere and could make the Ozone layer thin.
a)
The effect of air pollution
There are many effects of air pollution such as on the health of both
adults and children. Over the past several years the incidence of a number of
diseases has increased greatly. Asthma is perhaps the most important disease
with an increasing incidence, but other diseases, such as allergic reactions,
bronchitis and respiratory infections also have been increasing.
b) Health
Air pollution has many effects on the
health of both adults and children. The purpose of this article will be to
examine what is known about how air pollution affects health, especially
children's. Over the past several years the incidence of a number of
diseases has increased greatly. Asthma is perhaps the most important disease
with an increasing incidence, but other diseases, such as allergic reactions,
bronchitis and respiratory infections also have been increasing. The cause of
these increases may be due at least in part to the effects of air
pollution. Children take in more air per unit body weight at a given level of
exertion than do adults. When a child is exercising at maximum levels, such as
during a soccer game or other sports event, they may take in 20 percent to 50
percent more air -- and more air pollution -- than would an adult in comparable
activity.
Cambodia, which largely depends on its agricultural
sector, will experience slow economic growth made worse by the global recession
and economic crisis. People who live near the border of Cambodia and Vietnam
are usually use chemical fertilizer and poison to prevent their rice that and
make it grow faster, get high yield. The poison to diffuse an odor all over the
place and in the air then the people around that place is breathing it to body.
According to Mr. Hok Run that my group member interviewed who live in Peam
Reing commune, Leak Dek district, Kandal province said that he has had
pneumonia and liver because of using poisons for his farm.
According to The Phnom Penh Post said 1, September, 2011. More than 50
percent employee of Heart Enterprise (Cambodia) Co Ltd began collapsing soon
after starting their shift at the facility, in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district.
“Some woman got weak in the knees and fell, some started choking, and for
others their and legs began trembling and shaking before they fell. Because,
the factory doesn’t have fresh air, use some chemical to cure the clothes.
In Phnom Penh, Human health effects associated with
indoor air pollution are: headaches, tiredness, dizziness, nausea, and throat
irritation. More serious effects include cancer and exacerbation of chronic
respiratory diseases, such as asthma. Radon is estimated to be the second
leading cause of lung cancer in In Phnom Penh
Environmental tobacco smoke causes eye, nose and throat irritation, and is a
carcinogen. Asthma, particularly in children, is associated with poor indoor
air quality.
c)
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the
statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from
decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions
or the distribution of events around that average (e.g., more or fewer extreme
weather events). Climate change may be limited to a specific region or may
occur across the whole Earth, such as global
warming. A change in the type, distribution and coverage of
vegetation may occur given a change in the climate. Some changes in climate may
result in increased precipitation and warmth, resulting in improved plant
growth and the subsequent sequestration of airborne CO2. Larger,
faster or more radical changes, however, may result in vegetation stress, rapid
plant loss and desertification in certain circumstances. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change. )
Nowadays,
the weather in Cambodia is hotter and hotter, rain is not enough, has some
small stormed, some place are dry. For example In Takeo Province which some
place doesn’t have the rain for farming and the famers are worry about their
agriculture. People said before when raining season they had enough water to
grow their rice and other have water to use, but now the lack of water so they
may not grow anything if it not rain. Report by Asia Serey.
III.
The solution
a) Grow the tree
Nowadays, the government
should care about in environment by promote the people know the benefit of the
tree such as create the sub group from different province to protect the tree
in their community. If have illegal to cut the trees member of community should
contact information to the forest official. For example not cut
the trees or burn the tree in order to sell. The
governments have to encourage people to love the environment and growing trees in
their community especially, on National Tree Planting Day is on June 1.
b) Produce
transportation
The Government could
produce more transportation like buses, trains and subway trains; high tax
import luxury cars, high tax individual consumer. The government encourages
foreigner direct investment in buses and trains by less regulation and low
tax.
c)
Reduce
old car and electricity
The Government restrict non-import
the old cars, Educating people repair their old cars which are none smoke. The
government advertises through the media about impact old cars and old
motorbike through television, newspapers, radio, and internet and so on. Old
car and electricity must stop use, and try to use new one or recycle it again
if you want to use.
IV.
Conclusion
According to the
description above, so we should keep our country to be clean by growing the
trees, produce transportation; reduce using old cars and old electricity. Robert
Orben said said that “There’s so much pollution in the air now that if it
weren’t for our lungs there’d be no places to put it all”. Indeed, we are
Cambodian, so we should protect and take care of our Environment because the
Environment is like our life. We are love our life as love Environment.
