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Air pollution occurs when damaging gases are released into the air and are harmful to non-living and living things including water quality, soils, plants and animals. These gases change the natural atmosphere of Earth and directly contribute to climate change. Air pollution is caused by many human activities. It is most often the result of burning fossil fuels. Burning fossil fuels releases gases into the air. For example, when cars drive (not electric cars), they burn fossil fuels and pollute the air as they go. Also, making unnecessary fires makes a lot of smoke and the smoke pollutes the air too.
Air pollution also has a bigger impact by worsening climate change because of the carbon dioxide and methane that gets released into the air. Smog is formed when the gases and chemicals build up in the air. It makes the weather warmer and again, contributes to climate change. Air pollution is closely linked to climate change and makes climate change a lot worse. This becomes a continuous cycle that is hard to break.
Air pollution harms living things. The polluted air enters the body of living things and gets absorbed into the cells. The chemicals then affect different parts of the body causing breathing problems, heart problems or even death. The chemicals that animals ingest move through the food chain as predators eat prey.
There are many things you can do to help reduce air pollution. You can drive your car less and bike to nearby places in the summer, such as to the ice cream shop or library. People say it all the time, but it really does help. You can also walk to places that are close by. And in winter, if you walk, you can play in all the snow! You can buy fewer things from the dollar store. If you stop buying these things, the factories will don’t need to run all the time, and they will create less air pollution. Another thing you can do is not to make too many bonfires and campfires, to keep the smoke to a minimum. Companies in Canada also get fined large amounts of money if they violate regulations. If you don’t pollute the air, you don’t get fined. Keeping the air clean and keeping your money.