HOW ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION AFFECTS ECOSYSTEMS Justin R. Steed HOW ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION AFFECTS ECOSYSTEMS

Why Pollution is a Problem Air pollution is harmful to human health, but it can also hurt the environment. More than 2.4 million pounds of CO2 is released every second all over the world. About 5.5 million people die annually due to air pollution. This means that it is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide.

What Pollution Does to Plants Pollution is a problem to every plant. Chemicals such as sulfur dioxide, ozone and fluorides will damage the leaves on plants. If enough leaves are destroyed, the whole plant will die. Nitrogen dioxide will slow plants’ growth. Some pollutants will weaken the plant, and make it more susceptible to insect infestation. Acid rain will dissolve nutrients in the soil and wash them away before plants can use them. The rain also pulls aluminum from the soil, which is harmful to plants and animals.

Why Plants are Important Plants release oxygen. 28% of oxygen is released from forests. 70% is from marine plants (water plants). Crops are plants, so they will be effected by pollution too. Almost every living thing completely relies on plants.

What Pollution Does to Animals Animals are also hurt by pollution. Chemicals like Nitrous Oxide and Sulphur dioxide combine to form ozone, which causes respiratory diseases when inhaled. Particulate matter such as mercury, fluorides, powdered ash, dioxides, etc. get into the respiratory systems and build up in the lungs—which eventually will choke the animals. Acid rain will raise pH in bodies of water, killing marine wildlife. This can kill fish, which might kill other animals hunting fish, and then alter the entire food chain.

Effects on Animals Continued Predators are at risk of consuming contaminated animals, which causes a build- up of toxins. This is called bioaccumulation. When particles of dust or soot collects in an urban city, it can be inhaled and cause heart rate abnormalities in dogs, or heart and lung problems in rodents.

What Can be Done There are ways to “slow” pollution by carpooling, or turning machines off when you aren’t using them. We should use more renewable energy, like wind turbines and solar panels to power the things we use. Obviously it will take a long time, if it ever happens, to remove pollution. But it will allow many living organisms to live or thrive.

Works Cited Cynthia Myers, “The effects of air pollution on plants,” Livestrong. http://www.livestrong.com/article/141726-the- effects-air-pollution-plants/ “Effects of acid rain,” EPA. March 2017. https://www.epa.gov/acidrain/effects-acid-rain Aniruddha Bhattacharjee, “How air pollution affects animals,” India Goes Solar. March 2015. http://abcofsolar.com/how-air-pollution-affects- animals/ “How does air pollution affect animals,” Reference. https://www.reference.com/science/air-pollution- affect-animals-628bf09bf91e422c