Local Solution

Morgan Elementary School Air Pollution Poster Making Contest

10 Frequently asked questions:
1. What is air pollution?
- Air pollution is defined as a gaseous, liquid, or solid substance that interferes with human comfort, health or welfare, and causes environmental damage.
2. What causes air pollution?
- The industrialization of society, motorized vehicles, and the explosion of the population, are factors contributing toward the growing air pollution problem.
3. What are some air pollutants in cars?
- The primary air pollutants found are carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, hydrocarbons
4. What are green house gases?
- Green house gases allow sunlight to enter the atmosphere freely. When the sunlight hits the Earth’s surface, some of the sunlight is re-radiated back towards space. The greenhouse gases absorb the infrared radiation and trap its heat in the atmosphere. By trapping this heat in the atmosphere, the Earth has encountered drastic climate and environmental changes which is known as global warming.
5. What is ground-level ozone?
- Nitrous oxide reacts with hydrocarbons and sunlight to form ground-level ozone. Ground-level ozone is a key component of smog. Ground-level ozone irritates the nose, eyes, throat and damages the lungs.
6. How does air pollution form
- Chemicals that are emitted into the environment and they react with other chemicals to produce more dangerous substances. The weather has a big effect on the development of air pollution Air pollutants can be transported by wind, causing a pollution to spread widely. Rain can remove pollutants from air, causing soil and water pollution. Sunlight can aid the conversion of air pollutants to different substances.
7. What are the environmental effects of air pollution?
- Smog is one of the few environmental effects. Smog is a brown oxidizing fog. Smog is created from nitrous oxides, one of the pollutants that cars release into the atmosphere. Global warming has a major effect on the environment. Because of global warming, the sea level has risen due to the melting of glaciers. In addition, forests have been drying out because of the extremely high temperatures.
8. How does it affect the human body?
- Air pollution can cause one to develop health problems such as asthma. More serious affects include heart and lung disease which can result in death.
9. How does air pollution spread?
- Air pollution can spread depending on wind speed, temperature, air humidity, cloudiness, and wind direction.
10. What are possible solutions
- Solutions include converting to all electric cars (despite them still producing a small amount of air pollution), reducing the number of vehicles, improve the efficiency of vehicles, promoting car pooling. If these solutions aren’t enough, the government can encourage or force the reduction of vehicle use.

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/air-pollution.html
http://www.lenntech.com/faq-air-pollution.htm

1. Limiting Air Pollution

There is time to help stop air pollution before the world suffers unmanageable climate changes. We must take action quickly and help stabilize the CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. By removing warming agents like soot, we can balance the removal of aerosols that cool the atmosphere. Reduction of methane, hydrofluorocarbons, and other greenhouse gases that remain in the atmosphere for short periods of time, will extremely help the environment.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100503161328.htm

2. Ozone and Traffic Pollution Increase Asthma-Related Hospitalizations in Children

Traffic pollutants and the ozone have dramatically increased the asthma-related hospitalizations in children. Asthma is only generated from certain air pollutants. Doctors today are not sure which specific air pollutants result in asthma. These pollutants tend to be stronger during warmer seasons.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100422153810.htm


3. Particulate Air Pollution Affects Heart Health, Research Finds

By breathing the polluted air, your body increases stress on the heart. Stress on the heart can result in cardiovascular disease. Air pollution has such an effect on the heart, the one breathing the polluted air can die because of cardiopulmonary mortality or morbidity. It only takes 6 hours for the polluted air to affect the heart and as a result, you will have heart rate variability. One of the major sources of the air pollutants that affect your heart is diesel engines.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100519112713.htm

5 article Summaries

Summary Table #1
Title
U.N. reports pollution threat in Asia
Summary: Smog and many other toxic chemicals have blocked the sun from reaching Beijing. This not only changes the weather patterns for the country, but it also affects the lungs of millions of people within the country. These atmospheric brown clouds are visible from airplanes and can go so far east that they can reach California. This toxic mix can be deadly to the people that inhale it.

Author
Andrew Jacobs

Date Published
November 18, 2008

Source
New York Times

Web Link
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/14/world/14cloud.html?_r=1


Summary Table #2
Title
Menace in the Skies
Summary : The article tells the stories of the tragic smog affects in Donora, London, and New York City. The article describes how smog had a dramatic impact not only in one area, but all over the world.
Author

Date Published
January 27, 1967

Source
Time Magazine

Web Link
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,843390,00.html


Summary Table #3
Title
Global Warming
Summary: Obama and other world-wide leaders said that they would call for reductions in emissions and increase aid to help developing nations adapt to a changing climate and get access to non-polluting energy options. Burning fossil fuels adds to the atmosphere's invisible blanket of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases. The united nations had a meeting to discuss the global climate change. They pledged that they would prevent the disruption of the environment.

Author
ANDREW C. REVKIN

Date Published
Dec. 8, 2009
Source
The New York Times
Web Link
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/globalwarming/index.html?scp=1&sq=air%20pollution%20caused%20by%20cars&st=cse


Summary Table #4
Title
Decisions to shut door on Bush clean-air steps
Summary: The Environmental Protection Agency administrator said that they do not intend to impose mandatory controls on the emissions that cause climate change. The Bush administration failed to reduce the amount of smog, soot, or mercury. The Clear Interstate Rule controls the major pollutants emitted by industries. This is estimated to save 13,000 deaths caused by air pollution.

Author
Felicity Barringer
Date Published
July 12, 2008
Source
New York Times
Web Link
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/12/washington/12enviro.html

Summary Table #5
Title
Study ties air pollution to death rate
Summary: Air pollution has lead to high death rates in cities. Higher levels of ozone can result in various health problems.
Author
Michael Conlon
Date Published
November 17, 2004
Source
The Boston globe
Web Link
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2004/11/17/study_ties_air_pollution_to_death_rate/

Media Resource list

Media Resource list:
1. Statistics of cars:
http://bicycleuniverse.info/transpo/almanac.html

2. Car exhaust, air pollution and the effects on the environment, and possible solutions:
http://www.nutramed.com/environment/cars.htm

3. Air pollution causes, effects, and possible solutions:
http://scipeeps.com/air-pollution-from-cars/

4. Description of hydrocarbons:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-hydrocarbons.htm

5. Green house gases and effects:
http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/greenhouse.htm

6. Air pollution and health effects:
http://www.lbl.gov/Education/ELSI/pollution-main.html

7. Sulfur dioxide and health effects:
http://www.patientsville.com/toxic/sulfur-dioxide.htm


8. Carbon dioxide and global warming:
http://environment.about.com/od/globalwarming/a/autoemissions.htm

9. Carbon dioxide from cars:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=carbon-dioxide-from-cars-09-01-08

10. Carbon dioxide and effects to environment
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/co2.html


Short Video Clip

Dramatic impact air pollution has on the world along with jaw-dropping facts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcWpkWBX04E

How air pollution affects health:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3665914907157343039#docid=84823259741739667


Long Video Clip

Interviews with people on air pollution and how it affects their children.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3665914907157343039#



Medium Video Clip

Talks about green house gases, air pollution effects, pollutants, ground-level ozone,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx_yWFQvJT4&feature=related

Driving a car is the most air polluting act the average citizen commits. Air pollution is defined as a gaseous, liquid, or solid substance that interferes with human comfort, health or welfare, and causes environmental damage. Air pollution plays as a key component to green house gases. Green house gases allow sunlight to enter the atmosphere freely. When the sunlight hits the Earth’s surface, some of the sunlight is re-radiated back towards space. The greenhouse gases absorb the infrared radiation and trap its heat in the atmosphere. By trapping this heat in the atmosphere, the Earth has encountered drastic climate and environmental changes which is known as global warming. Because of global warming, the sea level has risen due to the melting of glaciers. In addition, forests have been drying out because of the extremely high temperatures. These environmental changes have occurred mainly because of air pollution. Air pollution that is produced in urban areas is mostly caused by motor vehicles. Motor vehicles produce large amounts of nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxides. When the motor vehicle reaches high pressure and temperatures, oxygen and nitrogen atoms react to one another and produce nitrogen oxides. In a car’s exhaust system, the catalytic converter breaks down the heavier nitrogen gases and creates nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide, making up about seven percent of the gases that cause global warming, is extremely potent as a green house gas. Nitrous oxide reacts with hydrocarbons and sunlight to form ground-level ozone. Ground-level ozone is a key component of smog. Ground-level ozone irritates the nose, eyes, throat and damages the lungs. Numerous exhaust hydrocarbons are toxic and some can cause potential cancer. Carbon monoxide is another dangerous gas that is produced when fossil fuels burn incompletely due to a lack of oxygen. Carbon monoxide can be formed in a car when the air to fuel ratio is too low when starting a car. This gas can also be produced if a car is not tuned properly or if the car is in high altitudes. Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas that does not have an odder or a color. Two thirds of the carbon monoxide comes from transportation. The largest of contributor of these transportation sources are cars. Car exhaust also produces a colorless gas called sulfur dioxide. High exposures to sulfur dioxide can result in burning of the nose and throat, having breathing difficulties, and can be life threatening. The burning of hydrocarbons releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Carbon Dioxide gas is one of the most major pollutants in our atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is good at transmitting light and preventing infrared radiation from going back into space. Because of these qualities, carbon dioxide is a green house gas. Carbon dioxide is responsible for fifty seven percent of global warming. Because driving a car is the most air polluting action that the average citizen commits, it is imperative to limit the use of cars by car-pulling and to spread the awareness of air pollution to achieve the ultimate goal of keeping a safe and healthy environment