Air Quality Notes

Atmosphere Composition Our planet’s air is naturally composed of Oxygen, Nitrogen, Carbon Dioxide and water vapor When our planet has too much Carbon Dioxide or Nitrogen in the atmosphere it is called air pollution

Sources of Pollution Cars Factories Power plants Household goods Mining Wood burning fire places Largest contributor is cars and factories

History Air pollution has been around since the 1200s when people were burning coal King Edward the II made a law anyone burning coal would lose their head!

Pollution 1/3 of our air pollution comes from cars The other 2/3 comes from factories Many inventions have occurred in order to control pollution In cars, unleaded gasoline and the catalytic converter In factories the Electrostatic precipitator These inventions add oxygen to the pollutates

Temperature Inversion When hot air pollution is trapped by the earth’s surface This happens when a layer of warm air will not allow the pollution to escape into the atmosphere Usually in cities located in a valley like Mexico City and LA This causes smog

Effects of Pollution Pollution is found to be the cause of respiratory problems such as asthma. People who live in cities are more at risk to develop asthma, allergies and other life threatening problems due to pollution

Other types of Air Pollution Noise pollution People who live in more rural areas have better hearing than those who live in urban areas Light Pollution The inability to see the stars/night sky because of artificial light