Fossil Fuels and Pollution: The Future of Air Quality

Clean air is essential to life and good health. Several important pollutants are produced by fossil fuel combustion and emitted directly into the atmosphere, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, and hydrocarbons. In addition, total suspended particulates contribute to air pollution, and nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons combine in the atmosphere to form tropospheric ozone, the major constituent of smog.