Respiratory Damage and Air Pollution in the United States and China The respiratory system is a series of organs responsible for taking in oxygen and expelling carbon dioxide (www.livescience.com, 2016). Among all the organs, the main organs used are the lungs. The lungs are the respiratory center and regulate the air that comes in and out. Although the respiratory system controls breathing, sometimes what is breathed in is outside of voluntary control. Air pollution is one of those things that humans cannot control. Air pollution is defined as air that contains deadly substances that bring toxins into the respiratory system (Clifton et al., 2016). Correlations between air pollution in the United States and China need to be discussed. Despite coming from two very different socio-economic and cultural contexts, the reason why we chose to specifically compare the United States and China is that, according to www.infoplease.com (2016), China is the most populated country in the world. world in which the United States is the third most populous country in the world. This makes China the most populated undeveloped country and the United States the most populated developed country, as India (another underdeveloped country) is the second most populated country. Comparing the most populated countries contrasts the different health concerns presented in the areas where the most air is breathed. This article will discuss what the respiratory system is, the different respiratory harms that air pollution has on the people of the United States and China, how the two countries relate, and what countries are planning to control air pollution. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Humans need the respiratory system to sustain themselves (www.livescience.com, 2016). The main function of the respiratory system is to provide the body with essential oxygen while eliminating carbon dioxide. Humans breathe oxygen [O2] through the nose or mouth to produce ATP. ATP is an energy molecule that is metabolized outside the body. Meanwhile, humans exhale carbon dioxide [Co2] to eliminate metabolic waste. Breathing allows air to move in and out of the lungs. Breathing O2 is a process called inhalation. This allows the rib cage to move up and out allowing the chest cavity to increase in size, while the pressure within the lungs decreases. The diaphragm will also contract, allowing the lungs to expand and air to enter. Next comes exhalation, also known as Co2 exhalation. Exhalation occurs when the rib cage moves downward and inward allowing the intercostal muscle to relax. The diaphragm relaxes and moves upward as the chest cavity decreases in size. The pressure inside the lungs will decrease, the lungs will retract and the air will come out. The research found that the most recurring problem encountered in China was the increase in asthma compared to the United States, where air from combustion emissions affects the quality of human health. Asthma affects 300 million people worldwide and was responsible for one of 250 deaths in 2004 (Cai et al. 2014). It is an obstructive lung disease that can be life-threatening. As a result, asthma attacks may occur. Asthma attacks occur when the smooth muscles of the bronchi contract and mucus begins to produce in the bronchi. When this happens, the bronchi swell,interfering with the passage of air. Cai et al. (2014) also mentions that asthma has historically been found more in well-developed countries than in underdeveloped ones. However, in recent years, there has been an increasing trend of asthma in underdeveloped countries, particularly in Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. A study conducted by Dang et al. (2015) published data showing that air pollution comes primarily from industry and traffic-related fumes spread across China. Dang et al. (2015) conducted a longitudinal study to examine the effects of air pollution by comparing the effects on children versus adults. What they found at the end of the study was that the majority of the 30 million people with asthma (Cai et al. 2014) were children under the age of ten. The results of this study demonstrate the idea of ​​how air pollution has only recently been an increasing event in China with regards to tests on adults who showed less severe signs of asthma. In contrast, studies conducted in the United States in relation to air pollution have revealed that premature deaths in the United States are linked to combustion emissions. Combustion emissions are defined as a gas resulting from the burning of fuels that can affect air quality by causing the breathing of harmful chemicals (Caiazzo et al. 2013). Caiazzo et al. (2013) the study was divided into two parts. The first revealed that 200,000 premature deaths occurred every year in the United States due to these emissions. The second study went deeper to identify which type of exhibitor was the worst and where the emissions were coming from (Dedoussi and Barrett 2014). Dedoussi and Barrett (2014) tested all sensitivities of industrial, road and rail transport workers. Along with cardiovascular disease, they identified two main respiratory diseases found in these types of workers: asthma and lung cancer. They found that these were worse in the western United States, but have no specific reasons to explain them. Although the two countries have different external reasons for the causes of respiratory diseases, the two come together when it comes to global air pollution. Air transport from continent to continent. This is called intercontinental air transport. That said, all the bad air from China goes to the United States and vice versa (Akimoto 2003). Akimoto (2003) discussed the impact of the massive nitrous oxide [NO2] emissions of the 1990s that overtook North America and continue to overtake the air from then until today. NO2 is a natural gas present on Earth. However, with excess activities added by humans, such as fossil fuels, agriculture, coal production and industrial processes, the amount of NO2 released into the air increases. Akimoto found respiratory effects related to this excessive release of NO2. He found that excessive exposure to NO2 would lead to airway inflammation even in healthy people. This increases the risk of asthma. In his conclusion he states that people who live near roads are more likely to develop asthma or have their asthma worsen than those who do not. From the 1990s to today, the amount of NO2 has not decreased but has affected humans even more than before. Both the United States and China are aware of air pollution problems and are working on how to prevent harm to human health. Over the past decade, air pollution control due to public concerns about health effects has been a.