Air pollution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Air pollution - Essay Example Glass starts his article by stating that the common notion that pollution is a recent problem is completely mistaken. The author backs up his statement by citing research that indicates that air pollution can be traced back many thousands of years to the ancient Greeks and Romans. The author then goes ahead to give a short account of how scientific research shows that industrial activity of the Greeks, particularly silver coin minting, released high amount of lead into the atmosphere. This lead accumulated in lakes and continued to rise as the activities of the Greeks continued. The level of lead in lake sediments also was recorded to have increased with the rise of the Roman Empire but they decreased after the Empire fell. The trend of high levels of lead in lakes started again in 1000 A.D. at a time when Germans were mining silver and lead. By the 19th century, Glass states that lead pollution was 3 and a half times more than it was in the 19th century. At the end of the article, G lass says that air pollution is not a positive thing, but reinforces his initial assertion that the problem is nothing new. The article is quite simple and it does not contain contradictory statements. Glass has not used much in terms of references. He mentions results from research, but he does not specify what research he is referring to. If I was the author of this article, I would have included more information about the source of information. Vidal focuses on the fatal effects that air pollution has on people. He starts by stating that 50,000 people lose their lives prematurely every year due to air pollution. He gives results from the environmental audit committee that show that microscopic particle released after burning fossil fuels shortens lives by 7 to nine years depending on level of exposure. He also says that air pollution does exacerbate illnesses such as asthma, heart disease and respiratory