Thick, brown haze wraps around a city. Unwanted tires, appliances, and other refuse float in a stream. Oil washes up on a beach. All of these are examples of POLLUTION. Human-generated chemicals, trash, noise, and heat can all be pollutants, but so can ash spewing from an erupting volcano or smoke spreading from a forest fire. Pollution is any contamination of air, water, or land that affects the environment in an unwanted way. Here's an overview of three types of pollution - air, land and water and then look at pollution controls.
AIR POLLUTION: Automobiles, incinerators, coal-fired power plants, and factories send carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides, soot, and other pollutants into the air. Fireplaces and and wood burning stoves add carbon dioxide, ash, and other pollutants to the atmosphere. Some major forms of air pollution include chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are used in products such as refrigerators and air conditioners; smog: and toxins (benzene, asbestos, and lead).
Air pollutants can cause health problems for people and other
living things. Smog can make people's eyes burn and can damage their lungs.
Acid rain, caused when sulfur and nitrogen oxides in the air
combine with water, has poisoned lakes in certain regions to a point where little life can survive in them. CFC's destroy ozone in the upper atmosphere, which allows more of the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays to reach earth , possibly leading to increased rates of skin cancer. Increased amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere may affect world climate.
Project Learning Tree Environmental Education Activity
Enrichment (art) Collage P 117 ; p 118 Assessment Opportunity, Related Activities, and References:
Dumptown Game game
Benchmarks for Science Literacy:
Culminating Activities for All Students:
Activity (A) Neighborhood Patrol (page 115)