Chicago Air Pollution
Chicago, Illinois has been home to 26 power plants and 6 nuclear power plants. Illinois was named among one of the top polluting states in the country. Air pollution continues to be a major leading cause n health problems and environmental issues. Power plants, car emissions, and factories around the United States all crate harmful pollutants that enter our ozone layers and become part of the air we breathe.
The energy we create comes with the cost of harming people. The health of many people and the well-being of our planet are affected by chemical substances present in the air. Yet there are changes people can make in our environment to cut down air pollution. It starts with educating communities and creating awareness of how the issue has been affecting people.
"For people living with lung disease within distance of power plants it has been a serious health threat (Africk-July, 2011) and many people in the medical field have analyzed more and more cases of lung disease because of harmful pollutants they breathe in on a daily basis. Coal power plants in Chicago, such as the Crawford Power Plant in the Little Village community and in the Pilsen area have been polluting the air with harmful chemicals, such as sodium dioxide and nitrous oxide. A study done in 2010 showed Crawford Power Plant is responsible for an estimated 42 deaths, 66 heart attacks and 720 asthma attacks. The health of many Americans is threatened because people live within short distance of these power plants across the state. The air they pollute not only affects the community, but also those around the world.
The U.S. pollutes the air unlike any other nation. Although other countries have factories and power plants, their pollution spreads through the water and the air we breathe. Air pollution travels creating hailstorms, massive thunderstorms, or even acid rain in some cases. Air pollution slowly tears away at our ozone layer and this only continues to speed the process of global warming. Harmful pollutants that remain in our air are trapped in our atmosphere and are harming our planet. All countries have polluted our skies while they try to create a sustainable life, but how long can this go on? Power plants are harming the world and the people in it with the harmful toxins they release into our air. Air pollution continues to be a problem not only in Chicago, but also for the entire world.
The Clean Air Act became a Federal law in 1920. It s main purpose was to set regulations and limits for pollution that could be emitted by power plants. Later on that year, and again in 1922, the law changed so that older plants in the U.S. were not held accountable to follow these standards. The power plant companies proposed this change based on the concept that older power plants would not be operating much longer. Meaning it would seem pointless to make costly upgrades to these older plants in order to make them 'cleaner'. Yet currently, 40 years later several of those 'old' power plants still operate and continue to release their harmful toxins and chemicals into our air. This is an example of how serious our health and well-being may be for many of the power plants. Over years, laws have proposed, yet many power plants across the U.S. have taken them lightly.
It is my hope that power plants in Chicago and all over the U.S., as well as other countries take the next step toward improving how they create energy without polluting our skies. Creating clean and sustainable energy is going to help the planet, keep people healthy, and decrease the number of reportorial issues around Chicago and all over the world.
Organizing community group meetings and showing people that their individual voices matter is important in order to create change. Large corporations such as the Fisk and Crawford Power Plants that pollute our skies are about to close or make changes, which may possibly help the planet. Our atmosphere is filled and polluted with toxins and chemicals and those toxins tear away at our ozone layer. Greenhouse gas is not good for our planet yet we continue to ignore this and not take the steps to create a healthier lifestyle and cleaner planet.
I believe the solution to improving the air we breathe exists and creating awareness is the key. We all have the power to, over a period, achieve our goal of social awareness in America and Chicago to learn and improve its alarming amount of pollution. Today we are seeing many goals achieved. The Midwest generators and power plants in the Little Village Community and in Pilsen will reportedly close down within the next two years. We see goals being reached. Although it takes time, making improvements in communities making the power plant companies aware of the health effects they have on our communities, they can take the steps to create cleaner air. Passing laws, which make power plants, follow certain regulations and other rules that would benefit the company and the steps in creating clean energy and put an end to polluting our planet. It is time all companies begin to produce clean energy and eco-friendly automobile factories and power plants find ways to create more jobs. These are all positive steps toward clean air. Other steps include the use of wind turbines, hybrid cars that do not pollute as much as gasoline. New solutions are found everyday in community meetings. It is time people chose what goes on in Chicago's communities and not leave it to the major corporations to choose what goes on here. Local residents have suffered long enough from the negative effects of pollution. It is everywhere, but all it takes is small steps at a time to make change. We are already seeing some of our goals achieved today.
Chicago, Illinois has been home to 26 power plants and 6 nuclear power plants. Illinois was named among one of the top polluting states in the country. Air pollution continues to be a major leading cause n health problems and environmental issues. Power plants, car emissions, and factories around the United States all crate harmful pollutants that enter our ozone layers and become part of the air we breathe.
The energy we create comes with the cost of harming people. The health of many people and the well-being of our planet are affected by chemical substances present in the air. Yet there are changes people can make in our environment to cut down air pollution. It starts with educating communities and creating awareness of how the issue has been affecting people.
"For people living with lung disease within distance of power plants it has been a serious health threat (Africk-July, 2011) and many people in the medical field have analyzed more and more cases of lung disease because of harmful pollutants they breathe in on a daily basis. Coal power plants in Chicago, such as the Crawford Power Plant in the Little Village community and in the Pilsen area have been polluting the air with harmful chemicals, such as sodium dioxide and nitrous oxide. A study done in 2010 showed Crawford Power Plant is responsible for an estimated 42 deaths, 66 heart attacks and 720 asthma attacks. The health of many Americans is threatened because people live within short distance of these power plants across the state. The air they pollute not only affects the community, but also those around the world.
The U.S. pollutes the air unlike any other nation. Although other countries have factories and power plants, their pollution spreads through the water and the air we breathe. Air pollution travels creating hailstorms, massive thunderstorms, or even acid rain in some cases. Air pollution slowly tears away at our ozone layer and this only continues to speed the process of global warming. Harmful pollutants that remain in our air are trapped in our atmosphere and are harming our planet. All countries have polluted our skies while they try to create a sustainable life, but how long can this go on? Power plants are harming the world and the people in it with the harmful toxins they release into our air. Air pollution continues to be a problem not only in Chicago, but also for the entire world.
The Clean Air Act became a Federal law in 1920. It s main purpose was to set regulations and limits for pollution that could be emitted by power plants. Later on that year, and again in 1922, the law changed so that older plants in the U.S. were not held accountable to follow these standards. The power plant companies proposed this change based on the concept that older power plants would not be operating much longer. Meaning it would seem pointless to make costly upgrades to these older plants in order to make them 'cleaner'. Yet currently, 40 years later several of those 'old' power plants still operate and continue to release their harmful toxins and chemicals into our air. This is an example of how serious our health and well-being may be for many of the power plants. Over years, laws have proposed, yet many power plants across the U.S. have taken them lightly.
It is my hope that power plants in Chicago and all over the U.S., as well as other countries take the next step toward improving how they create energy without polluting our skies. Creating clean and sustainable energy is going to help the planet, keep people healthy, and decrease the number of reportorial issues around Chicago and all over the world.
Organizing community group meetings and showing people that their individual voices matter is important in order to create change. Large corporations such as the Fisk and Crawford Power Plants that pollute our skies are about to close or make changes, which may possibly help the planet. Our atmosphere is filled and polluted with toxins and chemicals and those toxins tear away at our ozone layer. Greenhouse gas is not good for our planet yet we continue to ignore this and not take the steps to create a healthier lifestyle and cleaner planet.
I believe the solution to improving the air we breathe exists and creating awareness is the key. We all have the power to, over a period, achieve our goal of social awareness in America and Chicago to learn and improve its alarming amount of pollution. Today we are seeing many goals achieved. The Midwest generators and power plants in the Little Village Community and in Pilsen will reportedly close down within the next two years. We see goals being reached. Although it takes time, making improvements in communities making the power plant companies aware of the health effects they have on our communities, they can take the steps to create cleaner air. Passing laws, which make power plants, follow certain regulations and other rules that would benefit the company and the steps in creating clean energy and put an end to polluting our planet. It is time all companies begin to produce clean energy and eco-friendly automobile factories and power plants find ways to create more jobs. These are all positive steps toward clean air. Other steps include the use of wind turbines, hybrid cars that do not pollute as much as gasoline. New solutions are found everyday in community meetings. It is time people chose what goes on in Chicago's communities and not leave it to the major corporations to choose what goes on here. Local residents have suffered long enough from the negative effects of pollution. It is everywhere, but all it takes is small steps at a time to make change. We are already seeing some of our goals achieved today.