Within the last five long years, air pollution has increased a dramatic 8% globally. Almost a whopping 50% of Americans live in areas with extremely unhealthy levels of ozone and/or particle pollution. Air Pollution is not going to stop due to the fact that it would be impossible for the United States to switch to cleaner energy sources. This is a problem that affects us all and it must come to an end. I have came up with a simple air pollution solution though, that I believe the United States needs to jump on. America must start selling bottled air. The United States needs to bottle up clean, fresh air and sell it to people living in areas with the highest rates of pollution.

It is well known that diseases such as lung cancer, asthma, and heart disease can be linked to pollution, but even more research is being done and pollution is more harmful to the human body than we think. Journalist Emily Underwood from Science, explains that new research is now linking the risk of brain diseases, such as dementia, with air pollution (Underwood.) If we truly cared about the future of America and wanted to lower the risk of these diseases, this country would start selling air. These horrible diseases affects people's loved ones and hurts us as a nation. If we do not give our citizens the opportunity and choice to breathe fresh, clean air, then we simply are not doing enough to solve this problem. There is no other option other than letting Americans buy their way out of pollution-related diseases.

You may ask how I might know this new business will be successful. The answer is fairly simple. A similar business already exists in Thneedville. The company O’hare Air sells bottled air to the citizens of this small city and helps keeps them safe from all the pollution the city is drowning in due to the fact that almost all of the trees in Thneedville are gone and the city's main production, apart from air, is making plastic (The Lorax.) Even though the city produces an abundance of plastic, they do not have to worry about the harmful threats of pollution due to O’hare Air being thoughtful enough to sell them clean air. This city leads as an example, proving that once the business of selling air takes off in America, we will no longer need to worry about protecting the environment.
Now some people will argue that some simple and easy ways to help stop air pollution are to conserve energy, use clean energy sources, and switch to energy efficient devices (Rinkesh.) That is basically impossible for America and a completely ridiculous idea. It would be incredibly difficult to convince people that if they do not help protect the environment, it will end up hurting them and others in the long run. Also, it is not like the government could set up rules or regulations for people to follow. The government should not have to think about the physical health of their country have many other issues to worry about besides pollution. The simplest solution is for America to jump at the business opportunity of selling air.

Not only would selling clean air help stop the effects that air pollution has on people, but it would also better the economy. This is shown in the chart below. Selling air would create a brand new American business. This new business would create jobs and create a new export for America. Since everyone needs air to survive, it would be a stable business and does not have any flaws. It would also help out other businesses who produce these harmful products, such as plastic, or use non-renewable energy sources. They would no longer feel pressured to stop hurting the environment for the safety of Americans, since we all know the that first priority of big businesses is the health of Americans.

This solution would benefit America greatly. How else are we going to make sure people are not at major health risks while still protecting major businesses? After all, major businesses are what America’s number one priority is. Selling bottled air would help everyone and would be the easiest solution. The United States would make even more money, while also saving lives. We do not even have to take stop pollution, just avoid the parts that affect us.