Winning Student Essay

What Air Pollution Means to me and Why I Think Air Quality is Important

By: Jamie Zito

I take in a deep breath. I gaze upon the astounding White Mountains and realize that I have just survived five days of backpacking through this treacherous terrain. Another deep breath. I have never tasted air so clean, so pure. Even though I do not think my pores have ever been so engorged with dirt, I can honestly say I have never felt so entirely clean on the inside. My lungs have never been able to expand with so much ease and satisfaction. That is when I realize how much an unscathed, pollution-free environment and clean air can do for someone; not necessarily for me or for you, but for our future.

But, I do not live in the White Mountains. In fact, I do not even know of a stream or pine grove anywhere near me. Instead, I live in Maricopa County, so that is what I need to focus on. The air quality here is not exactly up to par. I cannot count how many days I wake up, turn on the news, and hear that there is an air pollution advisory for the day. This depressing state of affairs desperately needs to be changed. All of us need to spend a little more time considering just how much clean air means. We need to understand that we have the capacity to alter the conditions in which we live. We do not have any other choice. If the air we breathe is not safe for us, what exactly does that say about our lives, about the quality of our future?

My trip through the mountains symbolized my freedom. In a sense, that is what is so momentously important about air quality. To me, the quality of the air is directly related to limitations of freedom and independence. For some, their only escape is out of doors. They long to be soaking up life in the sun, wandering through woods, hiking a mountain, or just going for a run around the neighborhood. People need to be able to be outside because it is beyond our physical and mental walls that we can truly be limitless. Without clean air to breath, there is no chance for mankind to reach for what lies beyond his grasp, to aspire, to be inspired. If no one considers the significance of the quality of their air, there will soon be no way to explore; to learn. There will be caps and quotas on the possibilities of the future.

Remember now, this is all coming from someone who is extremely healthy. Imagine what air pollution means to someone who is not so lucky. Imagine every breath being a struggle. Envision every smoggy day meaning a 24 hour sentence to the solitary confinement of your home. Conceive of a world where the only way to behold the earth and all of its wonders is through a thick pane of glass. Now, dream of changing this life. If we could all think a little more about the quality of our air and the wholesomeness of our environment and a little less about ourselves, we can drastically change lives. Eighteen million people in the United States suffer from asthma; 7.6 million people have been diagnosed with chronic bronchitis in the past year; 3.7 million suffer through the pains of emphysema. Changing how we view air pollution and air quality can do something infinitely meaningful for 29.3 million people right there, let alone what it will do for all people and the generations of the future.

You may or may not have noticed that every paragraph ended with the word “future.” I did not intend to make my essay boring or repetitive. My goal was to drive the point home that while conditions might be livable now, the point down the road when they will not be lies ominously just over the horizon. We must change the quality of the air and it is a necessity that everyone knows the devastating impact of air pollution. This is our ailment, yet we have the prescription for healing. We need a healthy dose of appreciation. If people can appreciate their air and all that it affects, there will be the motivation to do something about it. We have a responsibility to the future. We need to climb all of the mountains we can. It should be the view from the top, not the quality of the air, which takes our breath away.