What causes air pollution?
Air pollution can be both natural- such as fires or volcanic eruptions- and man-made. Most of the air pollution in the Bay Area is man-made, and results from industrial processes and everyday activities like driving, boating, using household products or lawn and garden equipment, burning wood, painting, barbecuing, etc. In the summertime, ground-level ozone causes the most serious air quality problems. Commonly referred to as “smog”, ozone is a gas formed when sunlight reacts with oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds emitted by cars, buses, trucks, construction equipment, gas stations, refineries, and many other sources. While some ozone is produced every day, cooler temperatures and steady winds normally keep it from accumulating to unhealthy concentrations. However, on long, hot, stagnant days, ozone can build up to levels that violate federal and state health-based standards.
Air pollution can be both natural- such as fires or volcanic eruptions- and man-made. Most of the air pollution in the Bay Area is man-made, and results from industrial processes and everyday activities like driving, boating, using household products or lawn and garden equipment, burning wood, painting, barbecuing, etc. In the summertime, ground-level ozone causes the most serious air quality problems. Commonly referred to as “smog”, ozone is a gas formed when sunlight reacts with oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds emitted by cars, buses, trucks, construction equipment, gas stations, refineries, and many other sources. While some ozone is produced every day, cooler temperatures and steady winds normally keep it from accumulating to unhealthy concentrations. However, on long, hot, stagnant days, ozone can build up to levels that violate federal and state health-based standards. In the wintertime, especially between the months of November and February, particulate matter i
: The natural causes of air pollution are volcanic eruptions, and forest fires which send smoke, ashes and, gases into the atmosphere. Pollution also comes from humans like us. We can only control human pollution because we are the causes. Most pollution comes from a substance we burn called fossil fuels such as coal and gasoline. Factories, cars, planes, boats, and trains mostly burn fossil fuels. How Long Has Pollution Been Around? : Ancient cities were often dirty from human trash and debris. Unsanitary conditions in the middle ages encouraged a spread of diseases like the plague. Some of the main types of pollution were invented very early. Cars were invented in the 1800s as well as trains. Planes were invented in 1903. Why You Should Recycle: If you dont recycle the world can get polluted. Every year the average American uses about 100 pounds of plastic, 37000 gallons of water, 800 gallons of gas, and 3285 pounds of hazardous waste. Manufacturing a recycled can only takes 5% as mu
The main sources of air pollution are the industries, agriculture and traffic, as well as energy generation. During combustion processes and other production processes air pollutants are emitted. Some of these substances are not directly damaging to air quality, but will form harmful air pollutants by reactions with other substances that are present in air. Examples of large-scale air pollutants are VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) and small dust particles. When large concentrations of these substances are emitted this negatively affects ecosystems, materials and public health. Emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) mainly stem from agriculture, because nitrogen in soils can easily be denitrified by bacteria. Nitrous oxide is emitted during the denitrification process. Additionally, the application of (artificial) fertilizers causes emissions of ammonia (NH3), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and methane CH4), a greenhouse gas. The agricultural sector is known for its extensive use of pesticides. This
