air pollution
TRANSCRIPT
Can we cut down Air Pollution in the United States?
By
Jeremy B.
Thesis
• The United States should educate people to reduce air pollution created by our own industrialization, population growth and globalization.
Air Pollution
• Gases and particles in the air that are unhealthy for humans, plants and animals.
Major Sources of Air Pollution• Motor vehicle
exhaust• Heat and power
generation facilities • Industrial
processes• Auto
Manufacturing
• Fertilizer plants• Building Demolition • Fuel production• Forest Fires
- ("Air Pollution," 2001)
Effects of Air Pollution
• Global warming
• Acid rain
• Smog
• Ozone depletion
Global Warming
• Average increase of the earths temperature and Troposphere
• Which helps the climate patterns (The weather) change
• Can occur naturally and with help from human activities -("Climate Change," 2008)
Global Warming (cont.)
• An example of this is all the ice melting in Antarctica resulting from Global Warming.
• All of that melting ice is destroying habitats for many animals for example Polar Bears
Acid Rain
• When acid chemicals are swept into the air and into areas where it raining and the acid falls to the ground in the form of rain, snow, or fog ("What Is Acid," 2007)
(Stack, n.d.)
Smog
• Smoke and fog put together
-(Tyus, n.d.)
Ozone Depletion
• This is when the Ozone starts to fade away because of the pollution so then the Ozone doesn’t protect the earth anymore from the UV rays
• Cause by human activities
• Causes Global Warming
- ("Ozone Depletion," 1999)
Short-term Effects on Human Beings• Irritation to the eyes, nose and throat
• Upper respiratory infections like bronchitis and pneumonia
• Headaches
• Nausea
• Allergic reactions -(NRDC, n.d.)
Long-term Effects on Human Beings• Chronic respiratory disease
• Lung cancer
• Heart disease
• Damage to the brain, nerves, liver, or kidneys -(NRDC, n.d.)
How Air Pollution Hurts Animals• Causes respiratory problems
• Acid rain can kill lots of fish and other animals
- (Coveney, n.d.)
How Pollution Hurts Plants
• When trees are burnt CO2 is released into the air
• Some Pollutants damage leaves of trees
- (Socha, n.d.)
Industrialization
• The first fundamental pollution causes
• Began the widespread use of fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal
- (Tropical-Rainforest-Animals.com, 2008)
Population Growth
• The second fundamental pollution cause • When there is a population growth there is
a demand for food and other goods• When there is a scarcity for food and other
goods they make the goods in factories and there is pollution going on there
- (Tropical-Rainforest-Animals.com, 2008)
Globalization
• When countries become more developed and use more stuff that causes air pollution
• Major pollution cause
• Effective facilitator of air pollution
-(Tropical-Rainforest-Animals.com, 2008)
Air Pollutants
• Waste productions generated by Biofuel Combustion, Industry, Refineries, and Transportation
• Come in gases, solids, and liquid forms which are released into the air
- (Tropical-Rainforest-Animals.com, 2008)
Types of Air Pollutants
• Sulfur Dioxide• Nitrogen Oxides• Carbon Monoxide
• Ammonia• Ozone
- (Tropical-Rainforest-Animals.com, 2008)
Sulfur Dioxide
• Colorless gas
• Suffocating odor that smells like rotten eggs
• Can irritate eyes, nose, and lungs
• Contained within Fossil Fuels
- (Tropical-Rainforest-Animals.com, 2008)
Nitrogen Oxides
• Made by combustion of fossil fuels and cars
• There are two types of Nitrogen Oxide
• Nitric oxide which is colorless
• Nitrogen dioxide which is a reddish brown
- (Tropical-Rainforest-Animals.com, 2008)
Carbon Monoxide
• Highly toxic gas
• Colorless
• Odorless
• Tasteless
• Caused by fossil fuel combustion - (Tropical-Rainforest-Animals.com, 2008)
Top 5 Carbon Monoxide Causes
Ammonia
• Hazardous caustic gas
• Agriculture is the main source of ammonia mainly just livestock farming and animal waste
-(Tropical-Rainforest-Animals.com, 2008) - (Barb, 2009)
Ozone
• Colorless• Poisonous Gas• Sharp, cold irritating odor• Can be found in the stratosphere where it occurs
naturally• Can also be found in the troposphere where it can be
natural or from humans • Troposphere Ozone is a pollutant and is the lowest
layer of the atmosphere• Stratosphere Ozone protects the earth by keeping
UV rays from hitting the earth and is the upper layer of the atmosphere
- (Tropical-Rainforest-Animals.com, 2008)
Education
• Teaching people about air pollution is the best way to get them to realize how big of a deal this is and how much we are in danger.
Groups to look into
• Clean Energy Group
• Renewable Energy Group
• Greenpeace USA
• Environmental Defense Fund
• Environmental Protection Agency
Clean Energy Group
• Organized in 1998
• Promotes new solutions for cleaner Energy
• To find out more information about Clean Energy Group go too…
• http://www.cleanegroup.org/about.html
Renewable Energy Group
• REG is the leading biodiesel industry
• They sell there products so that we can burn cleaner fuels
• For more info on REG go to http://www.renewable-energy-group.com/about_reg.html
Greenpeace USA
• Came together in 1971• Have offices in more than 30
countries • They try to stop global warming, save
ancient forests, and many other things
• To learn more about Greenpeace go to http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/about
Environmental Defense Fund• Founded in 1967
• They deal with all environmental problems with four things
1. Strong Science
2. Innovative markets
3. Corporate partnerships
4. Effective laws and policy
• For more info go to http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=382
Environmental Protection Agency• EPA leads the nation in
environmental science, research, education, and assessment efforts
• They mainly want to help keep humans healthy along with the environment
• To learn more about the EPA go to http://www.epa.gov/epahome/aboutepa.htm
Work Cited• Air Pollution. (2001, September 5).Types: Air Pollution [Air Pollution].
Retrieved January 3, 2009, fromCoveney, E. (n.d.). The effects of pollution on animals. In The effects of pollution on animals [How air pollution effects animals]. Retrieved
January 3, 2009, http://library.thinkquest.org/C0111040/TheSite/thesite.php
• Barb. (2009). Fabulous fumier. In Fabulous fumier [Ammonia]. Retrieved January 3, 2009,from http://www.frenchgardening.com/tech.html?pid=3099955709430326
• Climate Change. (2008, October 29). Climate Change [Global Warming]. Retrieved January 3, 2009, from
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/basicinfo.htm • Coveney, E. (n.d.). The effects of pollution on animals. In The effects of
pollution on animals [How air pollution effects animals]. Retrieved January 3, 2009, from
http://www.patmed.k12.ny.us/schools/hs/departments/sc ience/coveney/5Animals.htm
Work Cited (cont.)• NRDC. (n.d.). How can air pollution hurt my health? In Health effects of air
pollution [air pollution]. Retrieved January 3, 2009, from http://www.lbl.gov/Education/ELSI/Frames/pollution-health-effects-f.html
• Ozone Depletion. (1999). Ozone Depletion [Ozone Depletion]. Retrieved January 3, 2009, from
http://library.thinkquest.org/26026/Environmental_Problems/ozone_depletion.html
• Socha, T. (n.d.). Air Pollution Causes and Effects. In Air Pollution Causes [How air pollution effects plants]. Retrieved January 3, 2009, from
http://healthandenergy.com/air_pollution_causes.htm • Stack, R. (n.d.). Acid Rain. In Citizens Campaign for the Environment [Acid rain].
Retrieved January 3, 2009, from http://www.citizenscampaign.org/campaigns/acid_rain.asp
• Tropical-Rainforest-Animals.com. (2008, November). Air Pollution Causes. In Air Pollution Causes [Air Pollution]. Retrieved January 3, 2009, from http://www.tropical-rainforest-animals.com/air-pollution-causes.html
Work Cited (cont.)
• Tyus, H. (n.d.). Fossil Fuel: Petroleum. In Is the Technology for Renewable Resources
Worth the Investment? [Smog Picture]. Retrieved
January 3, 2009, from http://sitemaker.umich.edu/
section4group1/fossil_fuels
• What is Acid Rain. (2007, June 8). What is Acid Rain [Acid Rain]. Retrieved January 3, 2009, from
http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/what/index.html