http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx_yWFQvJT4 Air Pollution

Pollutants Breathing brings air into your lungs, but not everything in the air is healthy for you. Pollutants are harmful substances that are in air, water and soil Air that has harmful things in it is polluted Air pollution can harm a person’s health

Sources of Pollution Some air pollution is natural Many types are a result of human activities Natural Sources of pollution: -forest fires -soil erosion -dust storms -volcanoes

Human Activities and Air Pollution Burning fossil fuels oil, coal, gasoline, diesel fuel Almost half of this pollution comes from cars and motor vehicles When fossil fuels burn they release particles and gases All fossil fuels contain hydrocarbons, when burned not all hydrocarbons are burned and escape to the air Burning these produces carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxides

22 Lanes of Traffic

Brain Break Turn to your neighbor and ask them what is the biggest cause of pollution today? What do you think “smog” is?

Smog and Acid Rain Smog was created by combining words “smoke” and “fog” Word was originally created 100 years ago for the coal pollution in London, England

London type smog is no longer common Now there is a brown haze called photochemical smog Photo “light” Formed by the action of sunlight hitting the pollutants When ozone is in the troposphere it is a pollutant that can irritate the eyes, throat and lungs Damaging to plants and materials too

Photochemical Smog

Brain Break Smog….EWW GROSS! Stand up, stretch, and then write down one place that you have seen smog. On T.V? Traveling?

Acid Rain Another result of pollution Rain that has more acid than normal Forms when nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides combine with water in the troposphere This forms nitric and sulfuric acids Rain, sleet, snow, fog carry acids to trees and lakes

Can be strong enough to damage buildings and statues Can make water too acidic that animals and plants cannot survive

Improving Air Quality In U.S. Laws and Regulations have been passed to reduce air pollution EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Improved in the U.S. in the last 30 years Newer cars cause less pollution than old ones Newer power plants also produce less pollution

However, more cars on the road Cities still polluted More public, mass, transportation is needed Many think we need stricter regulations Some believe that reducing air pollution will be expensive and that the cost isn’t worth it.

Summarizer What do you think? Now that you know more, write down three sentences expressing your feelings about air pollution efforts.