At 7:00 on a Monday morning in America, David is on his way to school. He runs at an easy pace to make up for some lost time. Finally, he arrives at school, takes in deep breath after deep breath, and within no time at all, his breathing is back to normal.

At 7:00 on a Monday morning in Tokyo, Anna is in a hurry to make it to school. She sprints down the sidewalk to try to make it in time. Finally, she arrives at school, but the effect of the pollution is taking a huge toll. It takes at least an hour to get her breathing back under control.

Air pollution affects both David and Anna who imitate two kids that are both running a little late to school. David does not think much about being able to catch his breath fast, for he is not the one choking on smog and other air pollution that can or can not be seen right in front of him. Anna knows that the pollution is there but there is nothing she can do. She has to go to school and deal with the coughing and choking all day. No matter what she does, like staying inside, the pollution will still get to her and other millions of people. David has probably heard that air pollution is a big problem, but has never really been concerned with it since it is not as bad in the United States. Anna hears about air pollution almost everyday and this makes her very concerned since sheknows that it is a huge problem. Air pollution isn’t just affecting people like David or Anna but it is also affecting the Climate. Air pollution has negatively impacted human health and also lead to the climate change, but by knowing these problems, humanity can than work to stop or even reverse the effects that people have had on the Earth.

Air pollution causes many health problems; however, the most serious is cancer. Cancer is one of the leading health problems in the world along with air pollution being one of the most common forms of pollution. Stated in the article “World Health Organization:Outdoor Air Pollution Cause Cancer”, “In its evaluation, the IARC concluded that outdoor air pollution causes lung cancer and is also linked to an increased risk for bladder cancer” (1). Air pollution does not just make people more susceptible for lung cancer but will also make them more likely to get bladder cancer. Bladder cancer has been linked back to air pollution in many cases, making this type of cancer the fourth most common type. Some studies have show that 1 in every 27 men are likely to develop bladder cancer. Now let's compare this to something like the lottery. The chances of winning the lottery is about 1 in every 14 million people; people will be more likely to get bladder cancer than win the lottery. Another study states that “Breathing air containing PM less than 10 microns in diameter, for instance, increases… respiratory illnesses and lung cancer” (“Air Pollution” 1). Small particle in the air will enter the human body through the lungs and cause many problems such as lung cancer. Take for instance, every time someone breathes in what they think is good air, they think that everything is fine. When really it could be terrible air that is growing cancer in their lungs. Most believe that smoking cigarettes is the leading cause of cancer. When in reality, air pollution is now the world's cigarettes, slowly taking our lungs through cancer. Cancer is not the only health effect of air pollution; air pollution also affects the blood vessels throughout the human body.

Air pollution also affects the blood vessels in the human body which are major routes carrying blood all over the body, including to the brain and the heart. The brain and the heart are two organs in the human body that will suffer a great deal without the proper supply of blood. Air pollution causes the blood vessels in the human body to shrink and limits the amount of blood flow throughout the body. Imagine the effect on a brain if it didn’t get the blood it needs. Or think what would happen if the heart was lacking blood. Stated by Dr. Xin Zhang, “We speculate that air pollution probably puts greater damage on the white matter in the brain, which is associated with language ability” (qtd.Gibben 1). Air pollution damages the white matter the human brain which helps with our ability to speak, remember, and have the proper judgment. Without the proper amount of blood, the matter that is associated with the human brain will be damaged. This would leave people handicapped and unable to function on their own. On average, women tend to have more matter than men, so by losing even more matter men will be at an even greater lose. According to another source, “Pollution is well known to adversely affect human health...it contributes to serious conditions including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), inhibited lung development in children, lung cancer, and heart attacks” (“Pollution” 1). Air pollution can be linked to many major health problems including heart attacks. Air pollution has been shown to shrink blood vessels all throughout the body. Heart attacks are a fairly common incidence that has affected people in our lives. Take for example, when my grandpa had his heart attack. He has lived in the suburbs of Chicago his who life and had to deal with the air pollution of cars and factories. Until one afternoon when he left Chicago to come visit my family in Iowa. All was going great, I was gone with some friends and my parents were visiting with him. When all of a sudden it hit. My mom looked at him and could instantly tell something was wrong. My grandpa was unresponsive and was quickly rushed to the hospital. Tests showed that his vallse to his heart were cutting off a lot of blood flow, so after a quadruple bypass he was finally ready to head home. Air pollution has been linked to the shrinking of blood vessels that cause heart attacks, so after all these years of my grandpa working in a polluted city, the pollution is finally starting to catch up with him. Air pollution does not just affect human health, but it also affects the climate.

Air pollution affects the climate by breaking down the ozone and increases global warming. According to Google global warming is “a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants” (“Global Warming Definition”). Air pollution will cause the atmosphere to break down that will allow more sunlight to enter, which will then cause the normal temperature to rise. It is stated that “Some scientists believe that releasing too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is one of the causes of global warming” (“Environment for Kids”: 1). It is believed that the leading cause of global warming is through the release of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is mainly released through the combustion of fossil fuel, which is the burning of fossil fuels. This can be as big as a huge factory burning coal to make their product, or even as small as a little motorcycle that barely burns any fuel. However, they both contribute to the big factor. AIR POLLUTION. When people are making this air pollution every day,  they are causing the atmosphere to decrease which in turn causing global warming. People say that it is the little things in life that mean the most, and, in reality, it is. Although, it might not seem like a big problem to drive a car around town, but the larger effect that this car is having to the environment is going to be massive in the future. Even though this will not affect humanity now, it will in many years to come. According to another source, “Thinning of the protective ozone layer can cause increased amounts of UV radiation to reach the Earth” (“Health & Environmental:” 3). When the ozone layer breaks down, the amount of sunlight that touches the Earth will go up. UV radiation is what causes the Earth to have its current temperature, so when air pollution causes the ozone to break down and let more UV radiation in, the temperature is going to rise. This might not seem like a bad thing because everyone likes beach weather. However, the ice caps do not like this rising temperature; they are going to melt and cause the sea level to rise up dramatically. This will wipe out many habits for both animals and human. Humanity needs to ask themselves if the cost of air pollution is worth the negative effects on the climate.

Although air pollution can not always be seen by the human eye, it is always there. Air pollution will consume our entire world, just like a fire consumes a forest. It might start out small and harmless but will turn into a blazing mess that will lead to the destruction of the world, either through the health problems of cancer or by breaking down the climate and leave us to be fried like popcorn in a hot pan. Both David and Anna have been exposed to different amount of air pollution but nothing compared to what it will be like in the future. If humanity does not make a change soon, there will be no chance in surviving. We only get ONE Earth and ONE body, so it it is up to us to take care of them.