Causes and Effects of Industrial Pollution

"Pollution affects two essential aspects of our planet: air and water. Although their pollutants are emitted in different ways, they both harm all living organisms. Air pollution is predominately emitted through the exhaust of motor vehicles and the combustion of fossil fuels, whereas water pollution is the result of industrial waste and environmental accidents. Our society knows that pollution is harmful and a serious problem for Earth but generally people don't care. Nevertheless everybody needs to contribute to prevention and pay attention to government control in the amount of material large industries can emit into the air and/or water. Industry gives off a good share of the waste that is polluting our planet, but it's every person is contributes as well. Government involvement is key to regulating toxins, building waste systems and protecting air and waters. Carbon Monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas and is the most abundant and widely distributed air pollutant. "Even though vast quantities of carbon monoxide enter the atmosphere each year (147 million tons in the US alone) the majority of the emissions are due to natural causes instead of anthropogenic, human causes. It is because of this that carbon monoxide is viewed as the least danger to living beings. The largest natural cause of CO is the oxidation of methane in the atmosphere. Methane, CH4, is produced on the surface of earth by the decay of organic matter." (Harrison, 1990) A smaller natural cause is the growth and decay of chlorophyll which is the green pigment in the leaves of plants. Eighty percent of the carbon monoxide that is emitted by humans is by transportation. Because automobiles are the largest source of CO pollution, the highest concentration of this gas is in highly populated/urban areas. The next greatest anthropogenic source is agricultural burning, which accounts for another twelve percent. "It has been shown that exposure to high concentrations of carbon monoxide can