Air Pollution
A
ir
pollution is the addition of harmful substances to the atmosphere,
which results in damage to the environment, human health, and quality
of life. It happens inside homes, schools, and offices; in cities;
across continents; and even globally. Human beings first experienced
harm from this form of pollution when they made fires in caves. Most
air pollution comes from human activity: burning fossil fuels—natural
gas, coal, and oil—to power industrial processes and motor
vehicles. Between 1900 and 1970, motor vehicle use rapidly expanded,
and emissions of very damaging pollutants in vehicle exhaust,
increased 690%. Among the harmful chemicals released into the
atmosphere are carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide.
Some of these pollutants also come from natural sources, like forest
fires or volcanic eruptions, and agriculture. The severity of
pollution depends on the type and amount of pollutants emitted. Air
pollution is subject to weather patterns that can blow it across the
globe and damage environments far from the original sources. It harms
plants, animals, and the ecosystems in which they live - and causes
breathing problems and promotes cancer. Some air pollutants return to
Earth in the form of acid rain and snow. Acid rain is created when a
mixture of gases react with sunlight, ozone and water vapour in the
atmosphere. Acid can be carried over long distances by wind, and be
released in rain, mist or snow. Acid rain results in the destruction
of forests and other plant life. It washes vital nutrients out of the
soil weakening the trees and limiting their growth, because it
reduces their resistance to extremes of weather. Over millions of
square kilometres of forests have suffered from the effects of acid
rain. Millions of trees are dead, or dying. Acid rain also affects
wildlife as it reacts with the soil releasing metals, which are
washed into rivers and lakes. They, in turn, become so acidic that
they cannot support fish population. Acid rain can also corrode
buildings.
S
mog
is intense local pollutionformed by the
interaction of pollutants and sunlight and may be sometimes hazardous
to health. Before the age of the
automobile, the grey smog of industrial
cities like London and New York mostly came from the massive burning
of coal and fuel oil in or near the city, releasing tons of ashes and
soot into the air. In 19th-century London,
smog was so severe that street lights were turned on by noon because
soot darkened the sky. The brown smog
typical of Los Angeles in the late 20th
century is mostly caused by burning
gasoline in motor vehicles. Smog usually
restricts visibility
and makes outdoor activity unpleasant. For the very young, the very
old, and people who suffer from asthma or heart disease, the effects
of smog are even worse: it may cause headaches and breathing
difficulties. In extreme cases, smog can lead to mass illness and
death.
The choices people make in their daily lives can have a significant impact on the state of the air. Using public transportation instead of driving, for instance, reduces pollution by limiting the number of pollution-emitting vehicles on the road. During periods of extremely intense smog, pollution control authorities often insist that people should avoid trips by car.
On the global scale, pollution control standards are the result of complex negotiations among nations. Typically, developed countries, which have already gone through a period of rapid (and dirty) industrialization, are ready to demand cleaner technologies. Antipollution measures have helped stop the increase of global pollution emission levels. Between 1970 and 1995, total emissions of the major air pollutants in the US, for example, decreased by nearly 30 percent. Less developed nations, hoping for rapid economic growth, are less enthusiastic about pollution controls. They seek financial help from developed countries to make the expensive changes necessary to reduce pollutant emissions in their industrial processes. Meanwhile, alarming changes continue in the global atmosphere. New efforts to control air pollution will be necessary.
/Adapted from http://pkukmweb.ukm.my/~ahmad/kuliah/manusia/artikel/air.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/C005137F/air%20pollution1.htm
http://healthandenergy.com/air_pollution_causes.htm
http://www.answers.com/topic/smog from Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia/
Find the words and word combinations in the text which mean:
solid, liquid, or gaseous fuels formed in the ground after millions of years by chemical and physical changes in plant and animal residues under high
temperature and pressure __________________
rain containing substances that form in the atmosphere when industrial gas emissions are released into the atmosphere and combined with water vapor: harmful to the environment __________________
smoke or other atmospheric pollutants combined with fog in an unhealthy or irritating mixture __________________
a black powder made mainly of carbon which is produced when coal, wood, etc. is burnt __________________
to cause sth (both sth positive and sth negative) (3) __________________
__________________
__________________
A typical feature of the English language is noun + noun word combinations, in which the first noun starts functioning as an adjective:
e.g. contamination site
Sometimes the chain of nouns may be longer. In this case each noun refers to the word it precedes:
e.g. pollution control authorities
Find 5 more examples of such expressions in the text.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Student B
Read the text and answer the following questions:
How can “air pollution” be defined?
Is it air pollution new phenomenon? Where did it first occur?
What brought about the increase in the pollution level in the 20th century?
What processes is air pollution caused by? What are the main pollutants?
What role do wind patterns play in air pollution?
What effect can pollutants have on the ozone layer and what can it lead to?
Why are carbon dioxide and methane called greenhouse gases? When are they released into the atmosphere? Is the greenhouse effect a natural process?
What is the difference between the greenhouse effect and global warming?
Why are scientists concerned about the increase in greenhouse gases? Do all of them share the same ideas about the climate change?
How can the increase in average temperatures affect life on Earth?
A
ir
Pollution
Air pollution is the addition of harmful substances to the atmosphere, which results in damage to the environment, human health, and quality of life. It happens inside homes, schools, and offices; in cities; across continents; and even globally. Human beings first experienced harm from this form of pollution when they made fires in caves. Most air pollution comes from human activity: burning fossil fuels—natural gas, coal, and oil—to power industrial processes and motor vehicles. Between 1900 and 1970, motor vehicle use rapidly expanded, and emissions of very damaging pollutants in vehicle exhaust, increased 690%. Among the harmful chemicals released into the atmosphere are carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide. Some of these pollutants also come from natural sources, like forest fires or volcanic eruptions, and agriculture. The severity of pollution depends on the type and amount of pollutants emitted. Air pollution is subject to weather patterns that can blow it across the globe and damage environments far from the original sources. It harms plants, animals, and the ecosystems in which they live - and causes breathing problems and promotes cancer. Some air pollutants return to Earth in the form of acid rain and snow, which corrode statues and buildings and damage crops and forests.
Several pollutants attack the ozone layer. Scientists have discovered that, as a result, the protective ozone layer is thinning, the process which is also called the depletion of the ozone layer. In the Antarctic region, it disappears almost entirely for a few weeks every year. That’s why, experts predict an increase in skin cancers and a reduction in food crops.
Humans
are bringing about another global-scale change in the atmosphere: the
increase in what are called greenhouse gases, which include carbon
dioxide, emitted by fossil fuel burning and deforestation, and
methane, released from landfill sites. Like glass in a greenhouse,
they admit the Sun’s light but tend to reflect back the heat that
is radiated from the ground below, trapping heat in the Earth’s
atmosphere, warming the Earth enough to support life. This natural
phenomenon is known as the greenhouse effect. Most scientists believe
a human-driven increase i
n
"greenhouse gases" is increasing the effect artificially
and will bring about the rise in average temperatures. The 1990s
were, in fact, the warmest decade on record, and 2005 was the warmest
year. There is little disagreement, though, that the temperature
increase, also called global warming, is on its way. Some experts are
reluctant to say that global warming has actually begun because
climate naturally varies from year to year, and it takes many years
to be sure of a fundamental change.
Still, scientists agree that the temperature increase will affect world food supply and change sea level. Warmer temperatures are expected to partially melt the polar ice caps, leading to a sea level rise of 9 to 100 cm by the year 2100. A sea level rise would flood coastal cities, force people to leave low-lying islands, and destroy coastal wetlands. A warmed world is expected to have more extreme weather, with more rain during wet periods, longer droughts, and more powerful storms. Tropical diseases like malaria, which now are mainly found in the tropics, may spread in the regions of the globe between the tropics and the Polar Regions. For many of the world’s plant species, and for animal species that are not easily able to shift their territories as their habitat grows warmer, climate change may bring extinction.
/Adapted from http://pkukmweb.ukm.my/~ahmad/kuliah/manusia/artikel/air.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/C005137F/air%20pollution1.htm
http://healthandenergy.com/air_pollution_causes.htm/
Find the words and word combinations in the text which mean:
solid, liquid, or gaseous fuels formed in the ground after millions of years by chemical and physical changes in plant and animal residues under high
temperature and pressure __________________
a region of the upper atmosphere high above the Earth, containing a relatively high concentration of ozone which prevents harmful ultraviolet light from the sun from reaching the Earth __________________
any of the atmospheric gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect.
__________________
a prolonged period of scanty rainfall __________________
the natural surroundings in which an animal or plant usually lives
__________________
to cause sth (both sth positive and sth negative) (4) __________________
__________________
__________________
__________________
the thinning of the ozone layer __________________
the destruction of forests __________________
A typical feature of the English language is noun + noun word combinations, in which the first noun starts functioning as an adjective:
e.g. contamination site
Sometimes the chain of nouns may be longer. In this case each noun refers to the word it precedes:
e.g. pollution control authorities
Find 5 more examples of such expressions in the text.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Student C
Read the text and answer the following questions:
What is water pollution?
Describe the main sources of water pollution
In the sea;
On farms;
In industries
What is the potential harm of water pollution to wildlife?
How can water pollution affect man’s life and health?
What did the 1972-1977 campaign try to protect? What was forbidden under new laws?
What is done to improve the quality of water?