1. Environmental Issues in Europe
Air Pollution in the United Kingdom
Acid Rain in Germany
And Nuclear Disaster/Fallout in Ukraine

2. Air pollution in the United Kingdom
Primary Causes:
Pollution from power stations, power generation , and industries
Vehicle (cars and trucks) emissions

3. Air pollution in the United Kingdom
Links to recent articles
about the health problems
Air pollution linked to early death in the U.K.
Air pollution link to heart attack and deaths

4. What are the top two sources of air pollution?
Industry and transportation (cars and trucks/ vehicle emissions)

5. Air Pollution Around the World What areas of the world have the most air pollution? Why?
Europe (UK, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Poland, etc.) Northeast/ Atlantic Coast, China. Why? They have many industries and very populated areas as well.

6. 2. What type of cars get the most miles per gallon?
Petrol- means the same as gas (gasoline) in most parts of the world. Petrol, is short for petroleum. This graph shows which countries have the most fuel efficient cars or get more miles per gallon (mpg). The more miles per gallon a car gets or the more fuel efficient cars will produced less emissions and less pollution in the air.
1. Which country’s cars have the highest fuel economy (get the most miles per gallon?)
2. What type of cars get the most miles per gallon?
3. What country has the worst?
4. How do the United Kingdom and the United States compare?
5. What is something that we could do to cut down on car emissions?
1.Paraguay, Iceland, Sweden, Brazil, France, Canada 2. Hybrid Multiples 3. India 4. The are about the same The U.S. is at 40 and the U.K is at 44, however the UK is doing better b/c the govt has put in place more restrictions and limits on the amount of emissions 5. The government should require auto makers and cars to meet a certain standard and limit the amount of emissions the car puts out by raising the miles per gallon a car should have to be able to get in order to be sold, also auto-makers could make more hybrid and electric cars, and cars that are more fuel efficient.

7. Issues associated with air pollution
1) damage to vegetation
2) harm to the atmosphere
3) harm to human beings

8. The effects of air pollution on plants (vegetation)

9. Pollution harms the atmosphere There are two types of air pollution 1
Pollution harms the atmosphere There are two types of air pollution 1. Natural air pollution- burning wood in fireplace, natural wildfires, volcanic eruptions, cows let out ammonia (gas) 2. Manufactured (Man-Made) pollution- caused by (stationary-doesn’t move) industrial plants, power generating plants (mobile-moving) cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles and airplanes.

10. The most hazardous pollution is manufactured or man-made air pollution
The most hazardous pollution is manufactured or man-made air pollution. It contains many dangerous chemicals that can cause serious health issues.

11. Man-made (manufactured) air pollution creates ground-level ozone (smog) , which contributes to climate change/ global warming.

12. Pollution (Air and Soil)
Have students identify the sources of pollution, which one will affect the air? Which will affect the soil? Have them identify the ways in which the pollution is transported/ or transformed. ( through the wind, and rising air pressure, the sun and heat ) Identify the effects, and the removal (the natural removal of pollutants is a part of Earth’s natural water cycle. The removal naturally through deposition (laying down of sediment or any other particles) wet means through the rain, dry deposition simply means it settles within the atmosphere.

13. Acid Rain in Germany
What causes acid rain?
Air Pollution

14. This is how air pollution causes acid rain
Have student draw and label the diagram so that the will understand how acid rain is formed (students will likely not understand acid rain and will have many questions. It is not going to kill you immediately and you will not even notice the acid in the rain, the effects will be noticed over time. It is not an immediately destructive force as some may have the perception.

17. Effects of Acid Rain can be seen here
Effects of Acid Rain can be seen here. This is after a few years of acid rain.

18. Issues associated with acid rain
1) Damage to vegetation and aquatic life
2) Contamination of drinking water
3) damage to physical structures such as buildings and monuments

20. Nuclear Disaster/ Fallout at Chernobyl, Ukraine
A nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, once a part of the former Soviet Union, now in the Ukraine.
Ukraine became an independent country in 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The disaster occurred toward the end of the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union
At this time, The Soviets were very secretive about all aspects of their government and any nuclear capabilities.
The Soviets did not alert the world or the area of the disaster. They tried to keep it a secret.

22. So, what exactly happened?
In the early hours of April 26, 1986, workers at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant were conducting an experiment that went terribly wrong.
The reactor at the nuclear power plant went into meltdown and a huge explosion occurred.
The carbon monoxide contained within the reactor, ignited with the air causing a large explosion, severely damaging the structure.

23. This explosion sent highly radioactive debris high into the atmosphere to be carried as far west as Portugal and north as Scandinavia.
It was actually the Swedes who alerted the world of the disaster after radioactive fallout was detected two days later.
In fact the explosion released 100 times as much radiation as an atom bomb like that used against Hiroshima.

26. Nuclear Disaster in Ukraine
Consequences of the disaster
1) land evacuation
2) land contamination
3) economic impact on East and North Europe farmers
4) health issues such as high rates of cancer, birth defects and in some cases death

27. Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster
How do you think the problem of the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl was not just isolated to that region of Ukraine?
The radiation spread through the air currents all over Europe
It still affects people today in Europe

28. Radioactive debris can cause health problems and serious illnesses or deformities. The picture shows a man holding his child who was exposed to these harmful chemicals while his mother was pregnant.
1/3rd of the population of Ukraine live in poverty today. The disaster contaminated the land, which was the most fertile in Europe for growing crops. It is not clear how long it takes for the dangers of this terrible disaster to be safe and clean, but the disaster has had a great impact on many people’s lives for many years and continues today.

29. Click on video to play A short video segment from Discovery Atlas, which describes the disaster and lingering effects today

30. Questions to answer
1. What are the two primary causes of air pollution?
2. What are some of the effects and issues related with air pollution?
3. What causes acid rain?
4. What are some of the effects or issues related to acid rain?
5. What are some ways to help control the amount of air pollution and acid rain?
6. Is air pollution only a problem in the areas where it is emitted in the air? Explain.
1. Vehicle emissions and industrial/power generation 2. damage to vegetation, harm to the atmosphere (smog, global warming), health issues. 3. air pollution 4. damage to vegetation, aquatic and plant life, damage to physical structures (buildings). 5. make cars more fuel efficient, regulate industries to regulate and reduce the amount of pollution emitted from plants. 6. No, because it can spread in the air all over the world.

31. 7. What happened in Chernobyl in 1986?
8. What country was Chernobyl a part of in 1986?
9. What country is Chernobyl located in today (since 1991)?
10. What were some of the effects associated with the nuclear explosion?
11. How is the disaster still affecting Ukrainians and their country’s economy today?
7. A nuclear power plant exploded. 8. Soviet Union 9. Ukraine 10. Land evacuation (people had to move), land contamination (could no longer grow crops), health concerns including cancer and birth defects They are still struggling economically b/c of businesses closing, people moving, and farms not producing crops because of the contaminated land, health problems from the radiation including cancer

32. 12. Create a Cause and Effect flow map titled Major Environmental Issue in Europe starting with air pollution. (Go through your notes)
think of the causes of air pollution and the effects
the effects of acid rain (the effects of acid rain are connected in some way to air pollution.
Next, the causes and effects of the nuclear explosion (tricky) Where does the nuclear disaster in Ukraine fit in the map? Well, the explosion caused some of the effects of air pollution, which is on the map of effects, but quite different effects (although some are the same) but, the cause isn’t exactly the same as the other air pollution even though it is an industry (but nuclear energy, is considered clean energy?
It was the explosion of the nuclear power plant that caused the damage, not the power plant emissions (but, they are connected in some way??)
So, brainstorm and see what you come up with because the flow map should include the causes and effects of the nuclear explosion at Chernobyl.
This could be separate but if you use your imagination…the nuclear disaster did involve both air pollution and some of the effects of air pollution and acid rain.

33. Create a cause and effect flow map of air pollution in the U.K.
Causes
Vehicle emissions
Industrial pollution
Air Pollution
Effects
Damages plants and animals
Polluted (dirty) air
Contributes to global warming
Health problems for people (asthma and other breathing issues
Acid Rain
Note to the Teacher: The Nuclear Disaster has not been added here. See what your students come up with, what you think, it does get rather complicated.