The Assignment

Coal-burning factories like the Gu Dian steel plant have given Shanxi Province in China a Dickensian feel

Smelling the Roses

Spotlight: What if you want to stop and smell the roses, but there's nothing there to smell? These days, we are less likely to be lured to a garden by the aroma wafting through the air. University of Virginia researchers recently reported that the scent molecules of flowers travel about 20 percent of the distance that they once did; when they leave the flower, they bond with pollutants [污染物wūrǎnwù] in the air, destroying the flowers' fragrance. Pollinators* such as bees are also affected. The insects have to search longer to pick up the scent of the flowers; this is one of the reasons that bee populations are dropping. The bees' primary source of food is nectar [花蜜huāmì] from flowers. Now, the bees find it more difficult to find the flowers and they are unable to feed themselves. http://www.answers.com/

*Pollinator
传粉昆虫
授粉者，指传授花粉给植物，尤指某种昆虫

Your Assignment: Please answer the following questions about "Air Pollution"

To help you with your answers some details have been provided for you in the “Supplementary Reading” You will find most the answer to most of the questions by clicking on the links and reading the articles. In some cases I have provided you with a few sentences to help you find the answer, once you start reading the article … but you should read further to give more details.

1. What is Kyoto Protocol?
2. Explain how air pollution is having an effect on insects, such as bees. On frogs in the rain forests. http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/
3. What is global warming? http://www.answers.com/topic/greenhouse-gas?cat=technology or http://www.globalissues.org/EnvIssues/GlobalWarming/Intro.asp
4. How does air become “dirty?”
5. What is methane gas, and how is it more harmful to the environment than carbon?
6. Please discuss a new method for using methane from coal mining, developed by an engineer at Sihe mine http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89657242
7. Discuss some of the effects of “passive smoke.”
8. What is Greenhouse Effect?
9. Does cigarettes smoking contribute to Greenhouse Effect? http://old.ash.org.uk/html/factsheets/html/fact22.html?
10. What is indoor pollution?
11. What effect does cigarette smoke have on indoor pollution?
Are there opposing viewpoints on the issue of global warming and greenhouse effect? http://www.amlibpub.com/liberty_blog/2006/10/ultimate-stupidity-on-global-warming.html

READ THIS FIRST! Click here

Frog Pond

About 4,000 species of frogs and toads are known to scientists, and another ten to twenty species are discovered each year. Because of their acute sensitivity to changes in the environment, such as deforestation, ozone depletion, global warming, and air and water pollution, these amphibians are disappearing faster than most other wildlife.
Many frog species become extinct before scientists ever have a chance to learn of their existence. Others are vanishing before our very eyes. Global frog declines are a sad indicator of a decline in the planet's general health.

Global Warming

The increase in global temperatures brought about by the increased emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. There is no doubt that concentrations of, for example, atmospheric carbon dioxide have risen since the 1950s; what is less certain is the extent to which this has altered the earth's climates, or the extent to which climates will change in the future. http://www.answers.com/topic/greenhouse-gas?cat=technology

What is the Greenhouse Effect?

Many scientists believe that deforestation is causing the earth to become warmer. This is because of what is called the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect works like this: The sun's rays pass down through the atmosphere and warm the surface of the earth. The surface throws some of the heat back toward space. However, much of that heat does not escape into space. Gases in the atmosphere called greenhouse gases trap it. This happens the same way a glass garden greenhouse traps heat to grow plants in the winter. The main greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons (["klɔːrə"flυərəυ'kɒːbən] CFCs).
People have been putting more and more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, especially in the past hundred years. Many scientists believe this increase in greenhouse gases will slowly cause the earth to become warmer. This is called global warming. Many scientists also believe that global warming could cause the polar ice caps to melt. This may cause flooding of low-lying coastal lands. A rise in temperature could be enough to endanger the crops we need for food. It could also dry up the lakes and rivers in some areas that provide water to crops, towns and cities.

The smoke from cigarettes also contains greenhouse gases. Cigarette smoke contains carbon dioxide and methane. Smoking worldwide releases about 2.6 billion kilograms of carbon dioxide in the air every year. It also releases about 5.2 billion kilograms of methane every year. Tobacco growing, curing, and smoking all add to the greenhouse effect and global warming. scienceu.fsu.edu/content/tobaccoyou/enviroment/docs/globalwarming.html

The term greenhouse is used in conjunction with the phenomenon known as the greenhouse effect.
· Energy from the sun drives the earth’s weather and climate, and heats the earth’s surface;
· In turn, the earth radiates energy back into space;
· Some atmospheric gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases) trap some of the outgoing energy, retaining heat somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse;
· These gases are therefore known as greenhouse gases;
· The greenhouse effect is the rise in temperature on Earth as certain gases in the atmosphere trap energy.

Six main gases considered to be contributing to global climate change are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) (which is 20 times as potent a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide) and nitrous oxide (N2O), plus three fluorinated industrial gases: hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). Water vapor is also considered a greenhouse gas.

Many of these greenhouse gases are actually life-enabling, for without them, heat would escape back into space and the Earth’s average temperature would be a lot colder. However, if the greenhouse effect becomes stronger, then more heat gets trapped than needed, and the Earth might become less habitable for humans, plants and animals.

Kyoto Protocol
An international agreement that aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and the presence of greenhouse gases. Countries that ratify the Kyoto Protocol are assigned maximum carbon emission levels and can participate in carbon credit trading. Emitting more than the assigned limit will cause the violating country to be penalized by lowering its emission limitation in the following period. http://www.answers.com/topic/kyoto-protocol?cat=biz-fin

Air Pollution

Have you ever heard someone say they are going outside "to get a breath of fresh air"? Have you ever tried to imagine what life would be like if the air were so dirty that people couldn't "get a breath of fresh air"?

How does air become dirty? Your car produces emissions that go into the air. The factories that made materials for your car produce more emissions. All over the world, millions of cars and millions of factories emit soot, ashes and chemicals into the air. Still more of these substances come from garbage that is burned and chemicals that are sprayed.

The result is air pollution. Sometimes you can smell pollution and sometimes, when the air looks hazy or smokey, you can see it. But sometimes it's invisible.

Invisible or not, air pollution can cause a lot of damage. Even a little air pollution can make your eyes burn and your head ache. It can tire you out, blur your vision, make you dizzy, and make it hard for you to breathe. Air pollutants can also affect asthma and make it easier for you to catch a cold or the flu. Air pollutants have also been linked to some cases of serious disease such as lung cancer and heart ailments. In fact, some scientists believe that air pollution costs Americans billions of dollars a year in doctor bills and unearned paychecks due to pollution-related illness.
People are not the only ones hurt by air pollution. Plants surrounded by polluted air may not grow. Fish and animals may die. Statues and building materials may be discolored or corroded (eaten away).

Fightiong Air Pollution

In the United States, people have been fighting air pollution for years and their efforts are working.Industries must now control emissions from factories. New technology both in pollution prevention, emission reductions, and improved manufacturing methods cut down emissions and removes pollutants from emissions.

Cars now come equipped with something called a "catalytic converter" for the engine system. The converter changes the harmful hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide that a car produces when it burns fuel into harmless carbon dioxide and water. Since a car with a converter uses unleaded gas converters also reduce the amount of lead in the air.

Some states and communities require emission control systems in cars to be inspected every year to make sure they are working properly. This discourages drivers from removing catalytic converters from their cars, or from pumping leaded gas into a car that should only use unleaded. In most states it is against the law to switch from unleaded to leaded fuel, or to tamper with catalytic converters.

Thanks to these different kinds of emission controls, the air in the United States is better than it used to be. Amounts of most major air pollutants have gone down. For example, between 1975 and 1984 amounts of carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide in the air dropped an average of more than 30 percent. The amount of lead dropped 70 percent. Today you can go outside to "get a breath of fresh air" in more and more places in the U. S.

New Problems

Air quality is improving, but more work needs to be done. Scientists now believe that some problems are more serious than they first thought. For example, researchers are studying harmful effects of acid rain. When some emissions from factories and cars mix with sunlight and vapor in the air, they change into acidic compounds. These compounds can travel long distances in the air. Then they can fall to earth with rain, snow or dust. When they fall on lakes, they can turn the water acidic, like vinegar. In some lakes, all the fish died because the water became so acidic.

Another problem scientists are learning more about is indoor air pollution. The air inside your house may be more polluted than the air around a factory! Indoor air pollution can come from oven fumes, hair spray, cigarette smoke, insect sprays, fingernail polish, carpet cleaners and other ordinary household products. Even the dirt and rocks around a house can cause pollution if they contain radon. Radon is a radioactive gas that occurs naturally in some soil. It is colorless, odorless and tasteless, but some scientists believe it causes lung cancer.

Sometimes the simplest cure for indoor air pollution is just to open a few windows. More complicated methods may involve installing exhaust fans or plugging up holes in a house foundation so radon cannot seep through. http://www.pca.state.mn.us/kids/kidsQuizAir.cfm