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Air Pollution In New York City Essay

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New York City may be nicknamed the “greatest city in the world” but that does not exclude the people living here from being subject to air pollution which could be contributing to health problems. The different forms of air pollution found in this city can cause or exacerbate conditions of respiratory illnesses, asthma, inflammation of airways, or even lung or heart disease.

According to NYC Environmental Protection (2018), some of the biggest offenders of air pollution in this city include:

· Fine particulate matter, or PM 2.5, which originates from vehicle combustion systems as well as from fuel-burning water boilers used for heating buildings in the winter

· Ground level ozone, which comes from vehicle engine exhausts and industrial emissions …show more content…

According to the American Lung Association reports (2018), Honolulu is tied in first place for lowest amounts of ozone and for lowest amounts of particle pollution, making it one of the cleanest cities in the US. However, I know from personal experience, riding a bicycle in traffic with buses and cars and gas-powered scooters, I would inhale a lot of pollution on my commutes. I also know people who you can pay who will pass your emissions test when normally your vehicle would fail so I know that there are a lot of vehicles with high polluting emissions there. Under some conditions that would cause the area to be more polluted but, according to Geology and Geophysics professor Dr. Rubin of the University of Hawai’i (2009), the wind from the surrounding ocean carries much of the pollution away. This, combined with the fact that there are no major industrial facilities there, keeps the amount of harmful air pollution very low. New York City doesn’t have those winds carrying their pollution away (although I know that there is no “away” since it does go somewhere and affects someone

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