There are different types of human-made air pollution.

When we burn fossil fuels to

produce energy they release greenhouse gasses into the air. This emissions such as
carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gasses trap heat from the sun in
earth's atmosphere. Leading to a rise in global temperatures. This creates a cycle where
air pollution contributes to climate change. And climate change creates higher
temperatures. In turn, higher temperatures intensify some types of air pollution. For
example, climate change increases smog, because it forms in the presence of high heat
and increased levels of ultraviolet radiation. More frequent extreme weather, such as
flooding, contributes to damp conditions and therefore a rise in mold.
Warmer weather also leads to longer pollen seasons, and therefore more pollen
production.

Smog, is a type of air pollution, that reduces visibility and has serious health effects.
Smog can be divided into two categories; sulfurous and photochemical. Sulfurous smog is
made up of chemical compounds called sulfur oxides. It occurs when burning sulfur
baring fossil fuels, such as coal. Photochemical smog, also called ground level ozone, is a
result of the reaction between sunlight, and nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic
compounds. Nitrogen oxides come from car exhaust, coal power plants, and factory
emissions. Volatile organic compounds are released from gasoline, paints, and many
cleaning solvents. Smog not only creates a brown haze that reduces visibility,
but also harms plants, irritates the eyes, and causes respiratory distress.

Another category of air pollution is toxic pollutants. These are chemicals such as
mercury, lead, dioxins, and benzine that are released during gas or coal combustion,
waste incineration, or burning of gasoline.

In addition to adverse environmental effects, toxic air pollution can cause serious health
problems. Such as cancer, reproductive complications, and birth defects.

While air pollution has many consequences for our planet, there are solutions. We can
limit toxic pollutes, smog and greenhouse gases, by decreasing the use of fossil fuels.
Such as in transportation, manufacturing, and electricity generation. Reducing air
pollution, not only contributes to a cleaner environment, and better human health, but
can also slow the rate of global warming.
On average, wildfires burn up to five million acres of land in the United States each year.
While they can start naturally, wildfires are often caused by humans with devastating
consequences. Wildfires are large, uncontrolled infernos that burn and quickly spread
through wild landscapes.

Types of wildfires may include forest, brush, and peatland fires, depending on the
landscapes affected. Wildfires require three components, known as the fire triangle - a
heat source, fuel and oxygen. Heat sources, such as the sun, a hot bolt of lightning, or a
smoldering match can supply enough heat to spark a fire. That spark then turns into
flames when fuel or any flammable material is present. Dry, dead grasses, leaves, and
trees are common fuels for wildfires, but so are living vegetation, called green fuels. Pine
trees and other evergreens contain flammable oils that can burn when exposed to a heat
source. As the fuel burns, the resulting flames feed and thrive off of oxygen. When air
movement or wind occurs, not only is more oxygen supplied to the fire, but it may also
help transport and spread the flames. Since wildfires occur outdoors, they have a nearly
endless supply of oxygen from our atmosphere to burn.

Many wildfires are the result of natural causes. A warmer climate and weather patterns
like El Nino can create the hot, dry conditions necessary for fires to erupt. However,
about 90% of wildfires are caused by human activity, such as campfires that become
uncontrollable, improperly handled cigarettes, or arson.

Although wildfires occur worldwide, they are most common in the Western United
States. There, high temperatures, drought, and frequent lightning and thunderstorms can
create the perfect setting for wildfires. While they can be destructive, and sometimes
even deadly for humans, wildfires do play an important role in nature. They can help a
forest by removing harmful insects or diseased plants and they can clear thick canopies
to help sunshine reach seedlings on a forest floor. By being aware of the conditions
necessary for wildfires to occur, they can be managed and prevented, thereby saving
lives and making way for the positive effects of wildfires.
Forests cover about 30% of the planet. And the ecosystems they create play an essential
role in supporting life on earth. But deforestation is clearing earth's forest on a massive
scale. And at the current rate of destruction, the world's rainforest can completely
disappear within 100 years.

Together Forestry and Agriculture are responsible for 24% of greenhouse gas emissions,
making deforestation a significant contributor to climate change.

Deforestation impacts the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere in two ways.
First, when trees are felled, they release the carbon they are storing into the atmosphere.
Second, trees play a critical role in absorbing the greenhouse gases that fuel global
warming. Fewer forests mean larger amounts of greenhouse gases entering the
atmosphere, and increased speed and severity of global warming.

In addition to helping regulate the earth's climate, forests provide habitats for over 80%
of the plants and animals that live on land. But deforestation destroys these habitats,
diminishing biodiversity. Some estimate that four to six thousand rainforest species go
extinct each year. This also affects the more than two billion people who rely on forests
as sources of food and shelter.

The biggest driver of deforestation is agriculture. Farmers chop down trees in order to
plant crops like soybeans, palm trees and cocoa, or to make room to raise livestock for
beef. Logging operations which provide the world's wood and paper products also cut
countless trees each year. Forests are also destroyed as a result of growing urban sprawl,
as land is developed for dwellings. The effects of deforestation are grave, but not
irreversible.

Efforts such as managing forest resources, eliminating clear-cutting and planting new
trees to replace those removed, are already being made to reduce deforestation's
environmental impact on our planet. And while some plant and animal species are gone
forever, combating deforestation can help prevent further loss of biodiversity.
15 to 35 kilometers above Earth's surface a gas called ozone surrounds the planet. The
ozone layer acts as a barrier between Earth and ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.
However, pollution has caused the ozone layer to thin exposing life on Earth to
dangerous radiation.

Earth's atmosphere is made up of six layers. The second layer, called the stratosphere,
contains the ozone layer. The ozone layer is made up of a highly reactive molecule called
ozone which contains three oxygen atoms.
Ozone is a trace gas in the atmosphere. There are only about three molecules for every
10 million molecules of air but it does a very important job. The ozone layer acts as
Earth's sunscreen, absorbing about 98% of damaging ultraviolet or UV light. But the
ozone layer has gotten thinner.

Chemicals called CFCs are the primary culprits in ozone layer breakdown. CFCs are
mostly found in refrigerants, aerosols and plastic products. When CFCs are exposed to
ultraviolet rays in the atmosphere, they break down into substances that include
chlorine. The chlorine reacts with the oxygen atoms in ozone and rips apart the ozone
molecule. Areas of damage in the ozone layer are often called ozone holes but that name
is misleading. Ozone layer damage is more like a thin patch with the thinnest areas near
the poles. The ozone layer above the Antarctic in particular has been impacted by
pollution since the mid-1980s.

About 90% of CFCs currently in the atmosphere were emitted by industrialized countries
in the northern hemisphere. In 1989 the Montreal Protocol banned the production of
ozone-depleting substances. Since then the amount of chlorine and other ozone-
depleting elements in the atmosphere have been falling. Scientists estimate that chlorine
levels will return to their natural state in about 50 years. By then the Antarctic ozone hole
will shrink to smaller than eight million square miles.
 Our environment is constantly changing. There is no denying that. However, as our
environment changes, so does the need to become increasingly aware of the problems
that surround it. With a massive influx of natural disasters, warming and cooling periods,
different types of weather patterns and much more, people need to be aware of what
types of environmental problems our planet is facing.
Global warming has become an undisputed fact about our current livelihoods; our
planet is warming up and we are definitely part of the problem. However, this isn’t the
only environmental problem that we should be concerned about. All across the world,
people are facing a wealth of new and challenging environmental problems every day.
Some of them are small and only affect a few ecosystems, but others are drastically
changing the landscape of what we already know.
Our planet is poised at the brink of a severe environmental crisis. Current
environmental problems make us vulnerable to disasters and tragedies, now and in the
future. We are in a state of planetary emergency, with environmental problems piling up
high around us. Unless we address the various issues prudently and seriously we are surely
doomed for disaster. Current environmental problems require urgent attention.
1. Pollution
2. Global Warming
3. Overpopulation
4. Natural Resource Depletion
5. Waste Disposal
6. Climate Change
7. Loss of Biodiversity
8. Deforestation
9. Ocean Acidification
10. Ozone Layer Depletion
11. Acid Rain
12. Water Pollution
13. Urban Sprawl
14: Public Health Issues15. Genetic Engineering