Air Pollution: A Local and Global Problem

Finding Solutions

We live in the atmosphere, a sea of constantly mixing gases. We use some of these gases as resources when we breathe or burn fuels. Some of the gases help maintain a friendly living environment; ozone protects us from ultraviolet rays while carbon dioxide and water help trap the sun's heat to keep Earth's temperatures comfortable. Human activities, living organisms and natural events all add gases, liquid droplets and solids to the air. We usually call these additions to the atmosphere air pollution when they cause problems for us or our environment. Air pollution can cause a variety of problems including: health affects, poor plant growth, and damage to buildings. Since the atmosphere is in constant motion around the world, pollutants that are created in one area may reach us hours, days, or weeks later.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will be to study the air pollution problem in a city and propose the best solutions to clean up the city's air.

First, you need to assemble a strike team of four students and select a city from the following list.
If you have an alternate city, your group must gain your teacher's approval before proceeding.

List of cities pending.

Next, your team must answer the following questions:

What types of air pollutants are in your location?
What are the sources of these air pollutants? (Remember some sources may be from remote areas.)
What are the effects of air pollution in your location?

Finally, your team must propose possible solutions to your city's air pollution problems. Be sure to consider all possibile solutions and relevant aspects of the solutions, such as ease of implementation and cost. You need to be able to justify your solutions.

Before proceeding, be sure you are familiar with and abide by the school's acceptable use policy!

After reading the policy click the back button or use the bookmark to return here (or type in the address http://www-ed.fnal.gov/linc/projects/bardeen/titlepage.html).

Push the button at the right to read the policy for OPRFHS (or else see your instructor).

To proceed with your mission push OK.

Author: Karen Bardeen, The Fermilab LInC program. Sponsored by the Fermilab Education Office
Created: July 18, 1996 - Updated: July 22, 1997
http://www-ed.fnal.gov/linc/projects/bardeen/titlepage.html

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