Air and Water Pollution
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Air and Water Pollution
ENV/100
August 14, 2012
Miguel Restrepo
Air and Water Pollution
Thomas Malthus a British economist is one of the first people to realize that the human population cannot increase indefinitely without inevitable consequences. These concerns include famine, disease, and the possibilities of war. What Thomas Malthus did not consider in the 18th century was the damage the human population would create on air and water pollution. Today masses of human population reap havoc on the worlds atmosphere and water supplies. The Earths atmosphere performs several valuable ecosystem services. One it protects the earth from the suns ultraviolet rays, and lethal amounts of cosmic rays from space. Two the atmosphere provides earth with light, weather, and climate. Water pollution is a worldwide concern and varies from one area of the globe to another. This paper will choose two water pollutants, and two air pollutants and explore these selected pollutants and their effect on the environment. The first step will be to evaluate two air pollutants and indicate whether the pollutants are primary or secondary pollutants.
Air pollution can come from many sources the smoke from a forest fire, or smoke, and gases from a factory. In addition, the interactions of human activities release many kinds of substances into the air. Example the primary pollutant carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, these carbon oxides produce a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas. The source of carbon monoxide may come from natural sources like a wild forest fire or volcanic eruptions. However, manmade carbon monoxide also plays a vigorous role in air pollution. The millions of people going to work each day release carbon monoxide into the earths atmosphere through the vehicles that transport them to work each day. Carbon dioxide on the other hand, is not only found in the air but also in water. Humans use carbon dioxide in a variety of ways the most common is carbonated sodas. Inhabitants have been escalating the amount of carbon dioxide in air by burning fossil fuels, by producing cement, and by carrying out land clearing and forest combustion (Lenntech, 2009). Carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are both primary pollutants because they inject into the atmosphere directly. These primary air pollutants affect the troposphere and enhance the amount of greenhouse gases, which is believed to be the primary cause of global warming. In addition, harm the respiratory tracts of animals, and humans. Air pollution, such as carbon oxides stunt the productivity of crop plants. Next; a glance at two water pollutants and how they affect the environment globally.
Water pollution is a