As
most people in China today look into the sky, they can barely even see its blue
color or the funky looking clouds. This is created partly because of a thing
called smog. According to Webster’s Dictionary, smog is: a fog made heavier and darker by smoke and chemical fumes. The word
smog first came from the combination of the words “smoke” and “fog”. This smog, which has seemed
to create a permanent yellow haze in their air, has become an extreme health concern
for our environment today. Several factors play a role in creating this smog, such
as automobile exhausts, certain VOC’s, and power plants.
In
places where the most smog occurs, there is usually heavy motor vehicle
traffic, high temperatures, sunshine, and calm winds. This is because all of
the exhaust, heat, and steady winds build up and clutter the air. So with this “smoky
fog”, also comes a variety of health issues for all ages. These health problems
include asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and other respiratory
problems as well as eye irritation and reduced resistance to colds and lung
infections. All of these problems would be eliminated with the theory of “island
civilization”.
In
“island civilization” less people live in each area, which would greatly reduce
smog. Since only a limited number of people live in each part of the world and
each country, that means there is only a limited amount of smog for each
country. This would not only slow the destruction of the earth down, but it
would also eliminate the health issues we have with smog today.
At
this moment, the city with the worst smog levels is Beijing, China. As you
could probably guess, the reason that smog is such a problem in Beijing is
overcrowding. If too many people are in a concentrated area and all these
people are producing exhaust or VOC’s, then the smog is going to be pretty bad.
Also, there are many nuclear plants and factories in China, which contribute to
the smog levels as well. It was recorded that the smog in Beijing got better
during the 2008 Olympics, but only because the city banned half of the cars
from driving around. However, after the Olympics left, the smog returned to
normal levels. Another location where smog is a problem is in my hometown, near
the high school I graduated from. The primary reason for the smog around our
school was because of the neighboring landfill. Known as “the dump” to the
students, the landfill created smog which was visible in the mornings walking
into school and in the afternoons walking out of school. Also if the smog wasn’t
enough, the landfill was one of the highest elevated areas in our city. This
helped carry the stench of the heated garbage for about a mile.
In conclusion, smog is a very harmful
environmental issue that, if not fixed, could endanger the lives of humans and
other organisms. One easy solution to the problem at hand is “island
civilization”. If “island civilization” was introduced then the amount of smog
would be cut down tremendously. If you want to learn more about smog and its effects go to http://www.deq.louisiana.gov/portal/PROGRAMS/OzoneActionProgram/OzoneFactsandExperiments/WhatisSmog.aspx.
This has been a very informative piece on smog and the effects that it can have on people and the air around us. I didn't know that Beijing was one of the worst affected areas, but thinking back now it does make sense because of the amount of people. I also really liked the touch of home that you put in. An island civilization could improve the levels of smog, but Nash's idea was based around putting three million people into a fairly small region of land. I take it as this would create a lot of air pollution that is pretty much trapped with the people in the island. But, in the broader scheme of things, there would only be 500 islands causing the smog and that has to be less than there are today.
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