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Most of the pollution is caused by transportation (including cars and
planes) and fuel combustion in stationary sources such as power
generation. It has been estimated that over 12 billion dollars is spent
on air pollution damage annually in the United States.
In 1990, American industry emitted more than 2.4 billion pounds of
toxic pollutants into the atmosphere. Air pollution is a problem for all
of us. The average adult breathes over 3,000 gallons of air every day.
Children breathe even more air per pound of body weight and are more
susceptible to air pollution. Many air pollutants, such as those that
form urban smog and toxic compounds, remain in the environment for long
periods of time and are carried by the winds hundreds of miles from
their origin.
But as our atmosphere changes both naturally and by humans, evolution
of the organisms within that habitat will take place. That is just the
nature of change on Earth.
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