IntroductionThe environment continues to suffer due to the careless actions of human beings. I believe we do not realize the impact on the environment all the manmade items have that we continue to develop daily. The earth was a beautiful place to begin with now we have new technologies and amenities to make life convenient for us. Having you own transportation is extremely convenient because you do not have to wait for the public transportation, which can sometimes be unsafe.In addition, having a car presents problems deeper than we know. To operate a vehicle, it burns a lot of fossil fuel which is release back into the air. Pollution of the air affects human daily in regions who have more manufacturing plants and overpopulated. There are six common air pollutants they are carbon monoxide, ground-level ozone, lead, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide. These toxins can create not only problems in the environment, but also impacts the health of humans.One thing I personally suffer from is allergy and sinuses, which is triggered by pollen, but I believe the air pollution plays a major role as well. Like air pollution, global warming, ozone depletion, overpopulation, waste disposal and loss of biodiversity all are outcomes from human activities or natural events.The current resources that we have today will soon diminish to nothing if we continue to neglect and make too many changes. The development of “fake” food or also known as genetically modified. Is society truly making our lives earlier or more difficult? Eating these items, I believe has caused a plethora of health issues that are present today.The wildlife has begun to migrate into areas where people reside. Part of this is because the habitat as they know it has been taken over by houses, building, or highways. These animals have no where else to go, so we have snakes that would normally be in other areas showing in homes, bugs that didn’t exist before do now. If we want to preserve what we still have, we must change our ways to make earth a better place and improve our environment.Pollution of the air can be blamed on both human and natural actions. A few natural events that pollute the air include volcanic eruptions, forest fires, evaporation of organic compounds, wind erosion, pollen dispersal, and natural radioactivity. Human activities that impact air pollution include:If you’ve ever seen a manufacturing plant, they are equipped with long tubes; known as chimneys, which is located high into the air. These long tubes have lots of smoke and fumes coming out. Waste incinerators, manufacturing industries and power plants release high levels of carbon monoxide, organic compounds and other chemicals into the air. Although these are safety precautions to ventilate the inside of the plant to protect the staff, it does nothing for everyone outside inhaling these toxins.We all appreciate the convenience of having cars, heavy duty trucks trains airplanes and shipping vessels; these items all burn lots of fossil fuels to operate them. Automobile engines contain primary and secondary pollutants which are difficult to manage because we as a society heavily rely on our vehicles or another form of transportation to travel. Car fumes from the exhaust contain dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, hydrocarbons, and particulates; can be deadly if fumes are inhaled in an unventilated area. (For example: closed garage)We may not realize items such as crop dusting, fumigating homes, household cleaning products, paint supplies, pesticides, and fertilizer dust emits are harmful chemicals released into the air. All these items have a warning not to use in unventilated areas.Ozone depletion is gradual thinning of the earth’s ozone layer in the upper atmosphere. Chemical compounds containing gaseous chlorine or bromine are released into the air from human activities and industry. The ozone is more distinct in the polar regions specifically in Antarctica. The ozone depletion in this region is a major issue because of the increased amount of ultraviolet radiation that reaches the earth’s surface. In 1985, a British Antarctic Survey was documented by scientists Joseph C. Farman, Brian G. Gardiner, and Jonathan D. Shanklin about the most severe case off ozone depletion, known as the Antarctic “ozone hole”. A number of hypothesis appeared that attempted to explain the Antarctic “ozone hole” but was without success. Later in 1987, the National Aeronautics & Space Administration and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration conducted a special measurement campaign; it was proven chlorine and bromine chemistry was deemed the respondents for the ozone hole.As we power our modern lives by releasing heat trapping gases into the air, it is causing glaciers to melt, sea levels are dying wildlife struggling just to stay alive. These are a few issues which is described as global warming. Many people describe global warming and climate change as synonyms. Climate change can be best described as the complex shift in weather and climate systems. As few examples of climate change include extreme weather events, shifting wildlife populations and habitats, and rising sea levels.Since 1880, the average global sea level has increased eight inches and is currently rising little more than and inch per decade. It is rising much faster on the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. East Coast. As temperature rises in the Western U.S. the greater the possibility of a wildlife igniting resources.The decline in the death rate is an issue because the number of children born each year does not match or exceed the number of deaths. People have better options because they have healthcare insurance. They also have better options for healthcare facilities too. Research is done daily on how to cure diseases such as cancer, which is responsible for lots of deaths. All of these allow people more time to live. In an overpopulation environment, the amount of people maybe more than the available amount of resources such as transport, water, shelter, food, and social amenities. In addition, can contribute to environmental deterioration, worsening in the quality of life or even the break down of the population. If the human population continues continue to grow, natural resources such as arable land, coral reefs, fresh water, fossil fuel, and wilderness forests will continue to drop rapidly.The proper disposal of used products requires appropriate disposal to lessen the chance of harming the environment. Waste disposal is a synthetic action for managing waste because it includes incineration or burning, burial at landfill sites or discharge at the sea, lake, river and recycling. A major issue with waste disposal is too much is being generated, 220 million tons of waste per year to be exact. According to the World Bank, the average worldwide municipal solid waste generation per person on an every day basis is about 1.2 kg and the expectation to rise to 1.5.kg by 2025. Landfills lack the appropriate on-sire waste management. This contributes to serious threats long term for example: leaks and pollution of ground water. The toxins from these landfills release toxic unsafe gases. Recycling is a possible solution for waste disposal. Recycling technologies like gasification, pyrolysis, and plasma arc usually marked “Green” are considered safer to burn with little to no oxygen and it does not involve fossil fuel.The primary reason for the loss of biodiversity accredited to the influence of human beings. Humans have altered the environment, by modifying the territory which directly impact species. Biogeochemical cycles, transferring species from one area to a different area of the world, fishing & hunting are a few examples of changes humans have made. A major concern of the survival of species because of the disruption in their habitat. The last century consisted of changes in territory in surface areas taken by agriculture & livestock farming. Furthermore, development of road networks, construction of hydroelectric plants, underground deposits have also cause problems because natural environments were changed destroyed or subdivided. This would explain why the wildlife have moved to what we consider to be “residential” areas. These are areas that was developed into residential and those animals were disrupted and taken out of their environment. Exotic species is another factor which is neglected. These species are placed in areas they would never survive otherwise but have learned to adopt due to their habitat being disrupted. The reverse is death because these species are not able to adapt in these unfamiliar areas. The food supply may be limited, and these areas may be dangerous for them due to certain predators. These factors all make them an endangered.Genetically modified organisms (GMO) are also know as transgenic organisms. GMO is an organism whose chromosomes and foreign gene are taken from a different species. My personal concern about this is they are involving the food that we intake. It’s sad because these food products are sold at a cheaper price making the consumer believe they are receiving a deal. But because people normally do not read the label, they do not realize what they are buying. Sometimes people know what they are buying but unable to afford anything else due to limited income. Long term effects of intaking these GMO products can lead to severe health problems.In order to improve the environment and make it better we have to make some changes to our lifestyles. The government throughout the world have begun to take action to improve the air pollution by introducing green energy. In efforts to minimize the burning of fossil fuels, the government has invested in wind energy, solar energy, and renewable energy. In addition, they have made companies more responsible for their manufacturing activities, even though they continue to play a role in polluting the air. Individuals are also encouraged to use the train or bus when commuting. Upon developing chlorine and bromine presented dangers to the ozone layer generated an international effort to restrict the production of CFC’s and other halocarbons. These efforts decreased the consumption of ozone depleting chemicals controlled by 90-95%.The value of life is important to me, so to hear the earth is overpopulated and our resources are diminishing because of this is unbelievable to me but it makes since. If we continue our efforts to improve medicine, more and more people will live longer lives. However, if the continues sales of genetically modified product, more and more humans will become sick with unfamiliar illnesses and my die. I believe this is a way to control this overpopulation.Waste disposal can easily be improved if laws are passed to mandate procedure to dispose trash. Everyday a new product is developed to help save the environment. I believe once these issues are made a law more people will embrace the shift in our culture. I personally don’t believe everyone is aware of all the affects our daily casual behaviors have on the earth. We take for granted that these things will always be there because we do not see the direct impact except in the climate and air we breathe. Once these issues that are unseen are brought to the forefront and mandate change, society will begin to shift their mindset and not take for granted that life as we know it will always be in existence.Air Pollution