Oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and over 70 other hazardous chemicals are polluting the air we breathe every day through various sources such as agriculture, fuel burning, and smoking. These chemicals are making people sick and causing health issues like pneumonia, cancer, and leukemia, with air pollution killing an estimated 2,400 Australians annually. The pollution is also damaging the environment by thickening the ozone layer and contributing to global warming, which threatens plant and animal life. Small actions like using energy efficient appliances, purchasing green energy, and wearing warmer clothes can help reduce pollution and create a better world.

3. Acetone & Ammonia

4. Acetaldehyde Ethanol Sulfuric acid Lead Nitric acid Cyanide compounds Methanol Chlorine

5. These hazardous and potentially fatal chemicals, as well as over 70 more, are affecting us all.

7. You are breathing them in everyday.

9. They are making us sick.

10. Coughing, sneezing, choking, and chest pain

11. Pneumonia

12. oxygen deficiency oxygen deficiency oxygen deficiency Oxygen deficiency (essentially cardiac arrest)

13. Leukemia

14. oxygen deficiency oxygen deficiency oxygen deficiency Cancer

15. Australia's air pollution death toll is higher than fatalities from road accidents.

16. 1700 people die annually from road accidents.

18. 2400 people die each year due to air pollution.

20. This number increases if long-term effects of air toxics on cancer are included.

21. And it’s not only humans that are slowly being poisoned ; the environment is suffering too.

22. These chemicals are thickening the ozone layer.

23. It gets thicker and the Earth gets warmer as more and more of the Sun’s rays are getting trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere.

25. Carbon dioxide is the biggest contributor to the thickening of the ozone layer.

26. By the end of the 21st century, carbon dioxide levels will have incresed by up to 75-350% (compared to pre-industrial levels)

27. As the Earth heats up, our plants and animals are dying because they can’t adapt to the high temperatures.

28. This problem is only getting worse.

30. Imagine if all plant and animal life disappeared and you did nothing to stop it.

31. You might think that there is nothing that you can do. But you can!

32. Taking simple actions can make a world of difference.

33. Turn off unnecessary electrical appliances at the power point wherever possible.

34. Make it your goal to purchase 'Green Power' - power generated from clean, renewable energy such as solar or wind.

35. Wear warmer clothes as your first action to keep warm, before deciding to use a heater or other heating element.

36. Purchase and install energy efficient light bulbs.

37. Together we can take these small actions to create a better world for today and the future.