Photochemical Smog Historically, the term smog referred to a mixture of smoke and fog, hence the name smog. The industrial revolution has been the central cause for the increase in pollutants in the atmosphere over the last three centuries. Before 1950, the majority of this pollution was created from the burning of coal for energy generation, space heating, cooking, and transportation. Under the right conditions, the smoke and sulfur dioxide produced from the burning of coal can combine
Photochemical Smog is made up of primary and secondary pollutants. Primary pollutants are released into the environment by vehicles, industry and natural environments. Primary Pollutants Industry Related Vehicle Related Natural Processes Sulfur Dioxide Hydrocarbons Sulfur Oxides Nitrogen Dioxide Nitric Oxide Carbon Dioxide Carbon Monoxide Carbon Monoxide Volcanic Dust Hydrogen Sulfide Smoke Secondary pollutants form when primary pollutants react in the atmosphere, such as the presence
Definition of Photochemical Smog Photochemical smog is an environmental problem that develops when primary pollutants interact under the presence of sunlight to produce a mixture of many different and hazardous chemicals known as secondary pollutants. Photochemical smog is formed by the reactions of automobile exhaust in the presence of sunlight. The term “smog” is derived from the words smoke and fog. It is also known as Los Angeles smog. It is a brownish-black-haze particularly on still sunny days
Causes of Photochemical Smog The initial step in photochemical reactions is the absorption of a photon by an atom, molecule, free radical or ion. The result of this absorption is strongly dependent on the energy, in other word the wavelength of the photon. Visible and ultraviolet portion of the light is required to start the photochemical reactions. The absorption can generate dissociation, internal rearrangement, flourescence, or excited species. Photochemical smog can occur in any environment where
Smog, as defined by Dictionary.com, is fog that has become mixed and polluted with smoke. The word smog was coined in 1905 in a newspaper report of a meeting of the Public Health Congress, in which Dr. H.A. des Voeux gave a paper entitled "Fog and Smoke." On July 26, 1905, Dr. des Voeux was quoted in the Daily Graphic stating, " it required no science to see that there was something produced in great cities which was not found in the country, and that was smoky fog, or what was known as `smog.'"
Climate Change is a “Wicked Issue” Climate Change is any substantial change in climate that lasts for an extended period of time. One contributor to current climate change is global warming, which is an increase in Earth’s average temperature. Plants and animal species throughout the world are being affected by rising temperatures. Many plants are flowering earlier now than they once did; animals, such as the yellowbellied marmot, are emerging from hibernation earlier; and many bird and butterfly
odorless gas comprised of three oxygen atoms. Ozone is found naturally in the earth 's stratosphere (the Ozone layer) where it absorbs the sun 's harmful rays. But ozone closer to the earth 's surface is dangerous, and more commonly referred to as smog (Fresno Metro Ministry). Moreover, Particulate Matter (PM) is a generic term used to describe a mixture of fine airborne solid particles and liquid droplets that are present in the air. These tiny particles are invisible to the naked eye, but can cause
and energy forms. Pollution can also occur naturally, and there are man-made pollutants as well. Industrial pollution does the greatest damage to the natural environment. One popular historical occurrences of massive industrial pollution is the Great Smog of 1952 in London, making the Industrial Revolution as the triggering point of harmful industrial pollution as people know it today. The setting up of many factories burning fossil fuels for production has led to unprecedented levels of air pollution
Smog is a problem around the world, but in the city of Los Angeles, it is especially bad. Los Angeles has been dealing with smog for decades, and to understand it, there needs to be an understanding of what smog is. Smog is one of the many pollutants that we as humans put into our atmosphere, and it is especially persistent in Los Angeles. There is a history of smog in LA, with the first instances of smog being seen as a problem starting in 1943. At the time, the causes of smog were not known
Air Pollution in Mexico City Mexico City adds an estimated one million new residents each year, resulting in one million new aggravates to the city’s already abominable air quality (Collins, 119). Over the span of a generation, Mexico City’s air has gone from being one of the world’s cleanest to one of the world’s most polluted, as well as the most polluted in its country. The average visibility in the city is down from almost 100 km in the 1940s to only 1.5 km today, removing the once beautiful
Air pollution is one of the most dangerous substances to our environment, causing damage to the atmosphere, human and animal health, and air quality. Recently, there has been an increase in death rates resulting from diseases caused by air pollution, such as asthma, respiratory problems, and lung cancer (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences). As a result, air pollution not only affects human life but also damages our ecological system as a whole, including plants and animals. Air pollution
Quality Planning and Standards, certain areas were and still are designated as "nonattainment" areas. These areas are regions which do not meet all the National Ambient Air Quality Standards [NAAQS] for ground-level ozone, a primary constituent of smog (USEPA-- National Air--Ozone and Carbon Monoxide 1). What are air pollutants and what is their composition? According to studies done by Brigham Young University on air pollution, air pollutants are made up of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons
Introduction In Auckland, private cars are hugely important to individuals as a means of transport around the city. However the use of personal vehicles has a negative impact on the environment in the form of air pollution (Auckland Regional Council, 2014). Air pollution can be measured by the level of particulate matter found in the air. Particulate matter is made up of very fine particles in the air which may be visible but are not always seen (Ministry of Transport, 2002). Air pollution due to
Methods to Reduce Air Pollution Air pollution is nothing new. Ever since the discovery of fire, less-than-desirable substances have been vented into the air. One of the first air-pollution regulations dates back to the fourteenth century, when King Edward I banned the burning of sea coal in lime kilns. U.S. air-pollution regulations have their roots in British Common Law. But regardless of those efforts, air pollution continues to be a serious local and world-wide problem. Pollution is the pressure
Environmental health is the science that studies how the environment influences the human disease and health. Environment means things that are natural to us in the environment, for instance air, water, and soil. However, it also covers the physical, chemical, biological, and social features that surround us every day. The physical environment is the man-made or built structures that include our living, work, and even schools. Included in the community systems such as the roads and our transportations
Trees are one of the capital assets in natural and have potential for long life as a memorial. Trees will change their colour, size and shape in different seasons. Urban trees mean tree grow within a city, town or a suburb. Each tree can make an important contribution to urban area. Urban trees are community’s infrastructure like streets, hospitals, public buildings and sidewalks. Urban trees and forests are very important in cities because trees work 24 hours every day for us to improve our urban
Air is an important aspect of our lives that allows us to live on the planet Earth. Without air, we could not survive. As humans, we rely on air to survive, so the quality of our air should also be important to us. “Adults breathe in about 10-20 cubic meters of air everyday. That is about twenty-thousand breaths. Children breathe almost twice that amount…” (B.C. Air Quality). Air has so much to do with the health and survival of many living organisms on this planet. Therefore, in this paper, we
Over the past years, numerous studies on the Environmental Kuznets Curve have been in great contention by investigating the income-pollution relationship. In recent times, however, criticism of cross-section estimations of the EKC hypothesis has grown. Consequently, the contribution of this study uses time series data for a developed country with reliable data: Canada. A dynamic analysis is performed in the form of the Vector Error Correction Model to test the short-run and long-run relationship
The Air Pollution in Beijing Introduction As China has industrialised, it has brought various environmental challenges into people’s life. The biggest one being air pollution, which has led to Beijing being addressed as the pollution capital of the world. Air pollution has become a very huge problem in China. It poses an undeniable threat to the Chinese public health. Coal combustion creates particulate matter which is more popularly known as "PM". Right now Beijing is dealing with a PM2.5, which
volatile organic compounds, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and fine and coarse particles. According to Environmental Protection Department (2016), Hong Kong is facing with two main air pollution issues: local street-level pollution and regional smog problem. EPD (2016) describes that the level of air pollutant in Hong Kong was 3.6 times higher than the World Health Organization recommended acceptable level. The mortality rate