Embedded Files
Significant ideas:
- The combustion of fossil fuels produces primary pollutants that may generate secondary pollutants and lead to photochemical smog, the levels of which can vary by topography, population density and climate.
- Photochemical smog has significant impacts on societies and living systems.
- Photochemical smog can be reduced by decreasing human reliance on fossil fuels.
Pollutants Quick Review
- Primary pollutants from the combustion of fossil fuels include carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, black carbon or soot, unburned hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen, and oxides of sulfur.
- In the presence of sunlight, secondary pollutants are formed when primary pollutants undergo a variety of reactions with other chemicals already present in the atmosphere.
- Tropospheric ozone is an example of a secondary pollutant, formed when oxygen molecules react with oxygen atoms that are released from nitrogen dioxide in the presence of sunlight.
- Tropospheric ozone is highly reactive and damages plants (crops and forests), irritates eyes, creates respiratory illnesses and damages fabrics and rubber materials. Smog is a complex mixture of primary and secondary pollutants, of which tropospheric ozone is the main pollutant.
Cities
Pick one city and complete a copy of this document about it. When you finish, share your findings with others who looked at other cities.
- The frequency and severity of smog in an area depends on local topography, climate, population density, and fossil fuel use.
- Thermal inversions occur due to a lack of air movement when a layer of dense, cool air is trapped beneath a layer of less dense, warm air. This causes concentrations of air pollutants to build up near the ground instead of being dissipated by “normal” air movements.
- Deforestation and burning may also contribute to smog.
- Economic losses caused by urban air pollution can be significant.
Forest Fires
Complete the document below on the basis of this source: https://rainforests.mongabay.com/08indo_fires.htm
- Pollution management strategies include:
- altering human activity to consume less fossil fuels—example activities include the purchase of energy-efficient technologies, the use of public or shared transit, and walking or cycling
- regulating and reducing pollutants at the point of emission through government regulation or taxation
- using catalytic converters to clean the exhaust of primary pollutants from car exhaust
- regulating fuel quality by governments
- adopting clean-up measures such as reforestation, regreening, and conservation of areas to sequester carbon dioxide.
- Evaluate pollution management strategies for reducing photochemical smog.
6. 3 Review
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