Air pollution is a major environmental problem around the globe. Not only it affects our health system but it also affects the other organisms and the environment that we live in. The current status of our atmosphere is full of darkness and specks of dust. Over historical periods, our environment has been deteriorating. With the development of industries and technologies, the number of carbon emissions significantly increased over the few years. Consequently, countless countries are being affected by it. 

There are various types of air pollutants are being created due to the developments of the industrial sectors. Other than carbon emissions, there are natural dust storms that are happening in the Middle East and there is particle pollution (ex. Micro dusts). For instance, Saudi Arabia struggles with natural dust storms that happen frequently. Another example of particle pollution could be the micro dust that appears near East Asian areas. South Korea, has been struggling hard with the micro dust. Although they still wear masks mandatorily due to COVID-19, wearing masks was already a daily routine for Korean citizens. Micro dust, also called “fine dust”, affects our health systems fatally. According to BBC, these dust contain combustion particles, organic compounds, metals, dust, pollen, etc. It is a whole mixture of harsh waste products that humans produce, which ultimately hits back at the citizens. 

There are numerous solutions that people can follow to make the atmosphere crystal clear. Simple ways are to practice not driving cars much, riding public transportation, walking, or even biking. Another way is to turn off any lights or products that consume energy. One of the technologies that could be used is the Carbon Engineering plant. According to BBC, this system uses fans to draw air containing 0.04% of CO2 across a filter drenched in potassium hydroxide solution, and this absorbs CO2 from the air, after which the liquid is piped to a second chamber and mixed with calcium and ultimately decompose by giving off a pure CO2 which is captured and stored well. This process leaves out chemical residues, which are recycled back in the process, forming a closed reaction that repeats endlessly without producing waste materials. This could be a great solution not only for the company but for the whole environment to thrive and live well on this green planet. 

Source: 

Korea’s micro dust problem: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48346344

Solution!: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210310-the-trillion-dollar-plan-to-capture-co2