Human Impact on the Atmosphere Notes Right Side

Air Pollution -Air pollution is the contamination of the atmosphere by pollutants from humans and natural sources -Natural air pollutants include volcanoes, wildfires, and dust storms -Humans main pollutant is burning fossil fuels with cars and factories -There are 2 types of air pollutants gases and particulates -Gases include carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, etc. -Particulates are tiny particles that are solid that are suspended in the air

Humans affect on the air -The Greenhouse effect is the way by which certain gases absorb and reradiate thermal energy -Greenhouse gasses are what cause this to happen and humans have caused a dramatic rise in these gases -37% more CO2 than in the 1700’s -The Ozone which protects us from Ultraviolet rays is thinning -Increase in acidity of rain -can kill off aquatic organisms and change ecosystems -Smog in large cities can cause lung damage

Impact on Humans -Air quality is the measure of how clean or polluted the air is -Measured by Air Quality Index and the higher the number the worse the air -Daily exposure to small amounts of air pollution can cause serious health problems -Short Term: Coughing, Headaches, Difficulty breathing -Long Term: Asthma, Emphysema, Allergies, and Lung Cancer -Global temperatures are expected to rise 1.1-6.4 degrees Celsius by 2100 -This will cause a rise in the water levels -This could destroy areas that people currently live

Reflection-Left Side Write a paragraph on how humans cause air pollution and what we can do to slow it down.