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Air Pollution in New York

Air pollution is a serious public health problem. The following paper will define the environmental issue and delineate its extent. In addition, the significance of air pollution with respect to New York City in particular will be discussed. This will be followed by a historical analysis of the city's air pollution mitigation effort, including how Federal, state, and local governments have mutually interacted to determine its overall development.

Contamination of the atmosphere has become a global problem. In fact, the entire troposphere is nothing more than a large "blue balloon from which there is little escape" (Grove, Spiegel, & Bond 503-536). Air is obviously essential to the survival of human beings (Dansereau 131-139). In its natural state, air consists of a gaseous soup. This mixture typically contains oxygen, nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide, and a few other minor constituents. However, with the progress of civilization, a virtual chemical revolution has occurred. At present, some 65,000 commercial compounds enter the environment every year. Moreover, the effects of such chemicals are starting to become widespread. For example, sulfurous clouds discharged from power-generating plants in both the United States and Europe are responsible for the development of acid rain. Such pollution has had a major impact on certain freshwater lakes. In addition, air pollution is also starting to affect the world's forests. In West Germany's Black Forest, for example, airborne chemicals may be killing firs, spruces, and pines; moreover, in New York's Adirondack Mountains, impure air is thought to be responsible for an observed decline among red spruces (Grove, Spiegel, & Bond 503-536).

Around metropolitan areas, the air pollution problem can be particularly severe. City's often have many sources of contamination. Different types of air pollution may derive from either industrial or residential sources. In additi...

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Air Pollution in New York. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 09:58, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1689614.html