Air Pollution; What Can I Do To Reduce My Impact?

Publishedon Monday, December 19, 2011

Air pollution is a serious and growing problem which each and every one of us is responsible for. Our daily lives contribute to the degradation of our atmosphere which plays a role in causing diseases in humans and animals, weakening plant life and disrupting ecosystems. Simple activities such as driving to work, heating our homes and washing our clothes all contribute to air pollution, so it is our responsibility to try and reduce our impact on the planet as much as possible.

Some of the chemicals which humans are responsible for include sulphur dioxide (from the burning of coal), carbon monoxide (from car exhausts) and carbon dioxide (from engines and power stations) all contribute to the levels of air pollution and cause terrible diseases such as cancer and asthma and bronchitis. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and is contributing to the problems associated with global warming and climate change.

Below I have listed a few simple steps which we all can take to reduce our impact on our environment…

• Take the bus to work rather than your car. Or if you don’t live too far from the office jump on a bike! If neither of these options works for you why not try to organise a carpool?

• Save energy by switching to low-energy light bulbs, taking shorter showers and insulting your home. Also don’t leave appliances on standby, switch them off or unplug them.

• Save water by saving rain water to keep your garden happy, and don’t leave the tap running when you brush your teeth.

• Garden organically instead of covering your plants and vegetables in pesticides. If you wouldn’t spray it on your dinner, don’t spray it on your garden. If you cannot grow your own food try to shop organically in the supermarket.

• Instead of filling your house with chemical pollution from freshening aerosols, just open some doors and windows and let the air circulate. If you are concerned about escaping children or pets, or curious creepy crawling take a look at our range of screens (http://www.windowscreensuk.co.uk/categories/home/).

• Stop smoking! It is not only bad for your health but also causes localised air pollution, ie. in your home!

• Don’t burn garden waste as it produces large amounts of the cancer causing chemical benzpyrene. Compost what you can and throw away what you can’t. Many local councils now provide special bins for garden waste.

• Reduce, reuse, recycle! Try to reduce the amount of ‘stuff’ you buy, chance are you don’t actually need most of it. Reuse glass and plastic where ever possible and recycle it once you are done.