Air Pollution
What
is Air Pollution?
Air is the
ocean we breathe. Air supplies us with oxygen
which is essential for our bodies to live. Air is 99.9% nitrogen,
oxygen, water vapor and inert gases. Human activities can release substances
into the air, some of which can cause problems for humans, plants, and animals.
There are
several main types of
pollution and well-known effects
of pollution which are commonly discussed. These include smog, acid
rain, the greenhouse effect, and "holes" in the ozone layer. Each of
these problems has serious implications for our health and well-being as well
as for the whole environment.
One type of air
pollution is the release of particles into
the air from burning fuel for energy. Diesel smoke is a good example of this particulate matter . The particles are very
small pieces of matter measuring about 2.5 microns or about .0001 inches. This
type of pollution is sometimes referred to as "black carbon" pollution.
The exhaust from burning fuels in automobiles, homes, and industries is a major
source of pollution in the air. Some authorities believe that even the burning
of wood and charcoal in fireplaces and barbeques can release significant quantities
of soot into the air.
Another type of
pollution is the release of noxious gases,
such as sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and chemical vapors.
These can take part in further chemical reactions once they are in the
atmosphere, forming smog and acid rain.
Pollution also
needs to be considered inside our
homes, offices, and schools. Some of these pollutants can be created by indoor
activities such as smoking and cooking. In the
Acid rain is rain or any other form
of precipitation that is unusually acidic. It has harmful effects on plants,
aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is mostly caused by human
emissions of sulfur and nitrogen compounds which react in the atmosphere to
produce acids. In recent years, many governments have introduced laws to reduce
these emissions.
Smog is a kind of air
pollution; the word "smog" is a portmanteau of smoke and fog. Classic
smog results from large amounts of coal burning in an area caused by a mixture
of smoke and sulfur dioxide. Modern smog does not usually come from coal but
from vehicular and industrial emissions that are acted on in the atmosphere by
sunlight to form secondary pollutants that also combine with the primary
emissions to form photochemical smog.