People are not the only ones hurt by air pollution. Plants surrounded by polluted air may not grow. Fish and animals may die. Fighting Air Pollution In the United States, people have been fighting air pollution for years and their efforts are working. Industries must now control emissions from factories.
New technology cuts down emissions and removes pollutants from emissions.
The converter changes the harmful hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide that a car produces when it burns fuel into harmless carbon dioxide and water. Since a car with a converter uses unleaded gas converters also reduce the amount of lead in the air. Some states and communities require emission control systems in cars to be inspected every year to make sure they are working properly. This discourages drivers from removing catalytic converters from their cars, or from pumping leaded gas into a car that should only use unleaded. In most states it is against the law to switch from unleaded to leaded fuel, or to tamper with catalytic converters.