How Does Air Pollution Affect Canada

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The effects of air pollution have made burning fossil fuels, health concerns, and forest fires, increase drastically over the past years. This report will show and prove how air pollution can affect these 3 major issues in Canada and how these issues have hurt and could keep hurting Canadians. Burning of fossil fuels has been a big issue in Canada over the years. Fossil fuels, including coal, oil, and natural gas, emit nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide when burned, leading to smog, acid rain, and climate change (NRDC, June 1, 2022). Over the past 50 years, there have been many new laws and rules made for fossil fuels and how they are used. New laws have been put in place to reduce the amount of fossil fuels burnt, and to have a cleaner environment …show more content…
Temperatures are expected to intensify air pollution and related health issues (Canadian Government, June 3, 2021). Socially, air pollution affects vulnerable areas, including children and the elderly, who are more open to health impacts. Politically,the Canadian government has created new policies and regulations to limit coal-fired electricity and limit public financing for fossil fuel projects abroad (Reiff, August 31, 2022). Economically, air pollution-related illnesses and premature deaths have an estimated annual cost of $120 billion (Changing Climate, 2022). Globally, air pollution is responsible for over 6.5 million deaths each year, which is a number that has significantly increased over the past couple decades. Changing Climate, 2022. In Canada, nine out of ten people breathe unhealthy air, which shows the need for improvement in air quality (Changing Climate, 2022). Forest fires are natural and are a big source of air pollution in Canada. Human activities such as unattended campfires and discarded cigarettes, as well as natural events like lightning, can ignite forest fires to occur (Forest Ontario, July 26, 2023). Over the past 50 years, the amount and severity of forest fires have increased immensely, partly due to climate