1. How Do People Affect the Environment? Pollution- a harmful change to the natural environment Why does pollution occur? Earth’s land, water and air can absorb only so much wastes and recycle them naturally Think of the Meadowlands

2. How Do People Affect the Environment? Smog- type of air pollution that can form over urban and industrial areas Irritates the eyes, nose, and throat Air quality alerts for people with respiratory conditions such as asthma

3. How Do People Affect the Environment? Acid Rain –Nitrogen and sulfur gases produced by the burning of fossil fuels ( air pollution) combine with water vapor in the air to form acids Pollute water and soil, kill plants and fish, damage stones and metals used in buildings and statues Black Forest

4. How Do People Affect the Environment? Landfills- specially designed places where garbage is deposited into lined pits Then covered with soil - garbage decomposes slowly and safely (supervised) There are some areas with open pits for dumping Other areas garbage burned in incinerators that give off lots of smoke Edgeboro

5. How Do People Affect the Environment? Biodegradable-able to break down in a short period of time Examples-food and paper Non examples- styrofoam cups and many plastics Toxic Wastes- poisonous materials that must be disposed of carefully Otherwise could pollute soil, groundwater, rivers and lakes Examples- paint, oils, cleaners, batteries