This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Nowadays, air pollution has become really harmful to humans. It can lead to temporary discomfort to our bodies. Also, it can cause more serious diseases and can even lead to deaths! Not only humans are affected; whole ecosystems are actually suffering from air pollution. When air pollutants contaminate the water and soils that animals and plants rely on, the ecological balance becomes mixed up. As time goes by, some sensitive species could possibly disappear!
However, air pollution is not only an issue for Salt Lake City or United States. It is also a global problem. In other areas such as Asia and Middle East, air pollution is even more serious. I was born and grew up in Shanghai, but a year ago my parents decided to send me here, to Salt Lake City, just because the air condition in China was too bad.
Air pollution is mainly created by humans. We build factories and release emissions. We smoke cigarettes and burn fossil fuels. In China, we say, "Whoever started the trouble should end it."
A lot of people still don't believe or choose to not believe there is air pollution today, but the issue is there and it won't go away unless all of us work together to solve the problem.
Claudia Lin
Murray