When I first think of carbon monoxide, I think of the cars that we drive that give them off. Carbon monoxide does not just come from the cars that we drive, however. They can come from volcanic activities, any man-made fire, and the burning of fossil fuels. The amount of carbon monoxide present in the air varies from place to place, but urban areas tend to have higher levels, and the exhaust from combustion engines are the primary reason for this.
What can carbon monoxide do to you? Carbon monoxide goes directly into people's bloodstream. There are higher levels of CO in the bloodstream of people that live in urban areas. The problem is that the presence of CO in the blood slows down oxygen activity. Therefore, the higher the levels of CO present, the harder it is to breathe in general--especially if one is exercising. People living in urban areas probably experience more chest pain, shortness of breath, and even heart problems due to the higher levels of carbon monoxide in the air. And of course, extremely high levels of CO can kill anyone.
One way the EPA and the US Department of Energy are working to reduce the levels of carbon monoxide is by creating alternative vehicles that will take in other fuels. We already have hybrid (both electric and gas fueled) and plain electric cars. There are these new vehicles that that in natural gas (such as methane) instead of gasoline or diesel as fuel. These new vehicles reduce the emission of CO by 90 to 97 percent! This is great because these are and will continue to be the cleanest vehicles on earth. Hopefully we'll be seeing more and more of these vehicles overtime.Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide
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