Air pollution comes in many forms from solid particles (like dust) to gases (such as ozone and carbon dioxide). The solid particles can cause people to have lung issues, such as asthma, due to breathing in the particles. Gases in the atmosphere alter how much energy is trapped within our atmosphere. This is called the Greenhouse Effect. This causes the atmosphere warming and warming of the surface ocean because it is in contact with the atmosphere. This affects marine organisms and can alter the chemistry of the ocean to produce acidic waters that can essentially erode the carbonate shells produced by some organisms.

Because the ocean and atmosphere warm even more with continued carbon emissions, glaciers melt at faster rates and can cause sea level to rise rapidly, as we are observing today. The Greenhouse Effect can also influence agricultural crops and change atmospheric patterns so that some places are warmer and some places are wetter than they have been in the past. The gases that humans add to the atmosphere by fossil fuel emissions have the ability to change the atmosphere, the ocean, glaciers, biology, agriculture, and, ultimately, impact society. I encourage you to check out this website to learn more about pollution, greenhouse gases, and the impacts of climate change.