What has happened to the land in a particular area?

     Kaohsiung city is prosperous and populous. According to the research, the average carbon emissions in Kaohsiung has already been the top of the world including the exhaust released from scooters, cars, and transportation, which deeply influences the quality of Kaohsiung residents’ life. It has been a vital issue worthy of discussing. Among these, air pollution is always a serious problem in Kaohsiung city. The air quality is usually evaluated by the concentration of PM10 which means airborne particulates, SO2, NO2, CO, and O3.

     First, SO2 and NO2 are the most obvious damaging gas in such an industrialized city like Kaohsiung. The cause of the high concentration of SO2 and NO2 is the development of heavy industry. Take Xiao-gang district in Kaohsiung for example. The average statistics of SO2 and NO2 in Xiao-gang district are much higher than other districts in Kaohsiung apparently due to the release from the factories. Not only does the pollution have awful influence on the living quality but also residents’ health. Aiming at this severe topic, the government of Kaohsiung city definitely provides some solutions including setting up the air quality monitoring stations in order to realize everyday air quality. The indications are also made more easily for people to understand. Moreover, the government urges residents to inform against the factories which violate the rules. This kind of cooperation between civics and government can help the air pollution problems and enhance their own living environment simultaneously.

     Secondly, the problem of CO or CO2 is mainly caused by the traffic. The high population and busy traffic is certainly the prior reason of the high release of CO and CO2. As a result, improving the traffic problems becomes the head mission. Advocate residents to go to work and schools on foot or by bikes, restrict the release by factories, and reduce the using of electricity. Everyone’s efforts will reflect on the improvement of Kaohsiung.

     Thirdly, Dioxin. What’s Dioxin? Dioxin is also called the century poison which is carcinogenic, hard to be resolved, and accumulated in our body. Many people blame this on the inappropriate usage of incinerators. You cannot deny one of the reasons of the discharge of dioxin is incinerators. That’s why the government inspects the incinerators or other related factories so as to control the release of it. However, the cause of dioxin is really so simple? Maybe not. There’re some other reasons behind it.

To be honest, combustion behaviors by people, created by nature, and the abuse of antiseptics on woods are also result in producing dioxin. It’s more complex than what we think.

     Last but not least, the sandstorm is another reason having impacts on air pollution in Kaohsiung. Every winter, the cold air mass from China will bring huge amount of sand and dust to Taiwan especially south Taiwan because of the wind direction. This will make the air become dirty, muddy, and turbid which will jeopardize people’s health especially their respiratory system. Many residents in Kaohsiung will go to the doctors due to the serious sandstorm. People shouldn’t go out as much as possible when the sandstorm is coming and wear masks when you go outside.

     Perhaps, the price behind the prosperity in Kaohsiung is air pollution. That’s why people should stand together even with the government and find the best solutions to it. People in Kaohsiung definitely have no way to eradicate air pollution, but at least they can reduce, obstruct, and prevent it from becoming worse and worse. It’s not personal or regional. It’s a significant issue for every single person in Taiwan even in the world. Everyone should make efforts to it because we deserve better life.