*Air Pollution*

                    Air is considered one of  the major substances that enables people to be alive. Other planets have sunlight, but the Earth is the only planet we know that has air and water. Without air and water, the Earth would be unable to sustain life .So there is a severe necessity to keep air clean. Unfortunately air is undergone to a great  injustice by people. Air pollution  means Contamination of air by smoke and harmful gases, mainly oxides of carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen.   Air pollution occurs when the air contains gases, dust, fumes or odor in harmful amounts. That is, amounts which could be harmful to the health of humans and animals or which could cause damage to plants and materials. The substances that cause air pollution are called pollutants. Pollutants that are pumped into our atmosphere and directly pollute the air are called primary pollutants. Primary pollutant examples include carbon monoxide from car exhausts and sulfur dioxide from the combustion of coal. There are also natural sources such as wind-blown dust and smoke from fires .Some forms of air pollution create global problems, such as upper atmosphere ozone depletion and global warming. Air pollution has catastrophic effects on people as it causes some deadly diseases like allergic diseases, inflammation in the eye Lung damage or Respiratory Disease. So there is an urgent emergency to take decisive procedures to save ourselves and our earth.

                   The causes of air pollution are divided into natural such as Volcanic eruptions which can spew massive amounts of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere ,forest fires, pollen scattering, sandstorms and other pollutants made by people like thermal power ,burning the rice straw in Egypt ,car fumes, pesticides, wastes of factories, Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂) of Motor Vehicles, Lead (Pb) is largely derived from the combustion of lead additives in motor fuels as well as lead smelting. Smoke is a by-product of incomplete combustion. Incomplete combustion can significantly increase the quantity of certain toxic chemicals discharged by vehicles into the air. These chemicals can cause mild to severe irritation to the eyes, nose, throat and lungs. They can also be absorbed into the body and cause deterioration in general health. Also people can be infected with pneumonia. Some materials like arsenic and lead cause mental retardation ,and Carbon Monoxide (CO) causes disrupting the supply of oxygen to the body’s tissues.

                   To sum up, reducing air pollution is the responsibility of government and individuals. The ministry of environment must enact laws prohibiting smoking in public places .To improve air quality in the cities , we have to increase the number of trees and vegetation inside and around them ,There should be national plan to plant trees and flowers in front of every building and urging people to use clean energy like solar energy and natural gas instead of petrol.  The government must make obligations for factories to use filters . In Egypt there should be cooperation of all segments of Egyptian society, the business, the government, the mothers and housewives, the students, the artists and all the professionals inside and outside Egypt.
 we have to help the Business & Industry to produce environmentally friendly products & services with minimal adverse impact on the environment. All of us rich or poor, men, women or children, Muslims or Christians, intellectuals or illiterate, powerful or weak, Politicians, students, professionals, farmers, workers, house wives, breathe the same air, drink from the same source and eat food grown in the same soil. We are all in the same lifeboat and are biologically affected very much the same by the environmental conditions. Hence we all have a shared destiny as far as the environment is concerned. if each of us ask his friends, family to contact the media, to contact the famous artists so they can join and spread the message further. We can bring awareness and make the environment a national priority.

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