ACID RAIN

CAUSED BY :
Acid rain is caused by a chemical
reaction that begins when compounds like
sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are
released into the air. These substances can
rise very high into the atmosphere, where
they mix and react with water, oxygen, and
other chemicals to form more acidic
pollutants, known as acid rain.

EFFECT ON LIVING THINGS AND

THE ENVIRONMENT:
Acid Rain is harmful to many different
elements of the environment today.Through
soil acid rain can affect plants and, ultimately,
the surrounding ecosystem. According to the
Environment Agency, certain "soils on chalk
and limestone are naturally alkaline and
neutralize deposition.Over all, acid rain is a

threat to many forests and lakes in northern

regions because of the soil's sensitivity to pH
change. It is important to work to save our
world and forests against acid rain. To learn
more visit our prevention site.

WAYS TO OVERCOME:
Because nitrogen oxides are created in the
process of burning coal and other fossil fuels,
some power plants are changing the way they
burn coal. A great way to reduce acid rain is
to produce energy without using fossil fuels.
Instead, people can use renewable energy
sources, such as solar and wind power.

GREENHOUSE
EFFECT
CAUSE BY:
Coal burned in power stations contains
carbon which combines with oxygen in the
atmosphere to form carbon dioxide. The manmade (or anthropogenic) component of
the greenhouse effect iscaused by man's
activities that emit greenhouse gases to the
atmosphere. The most important of these is
the burning of fossil fuels.

EFFECT ON LIVING THINGS AND

THE ENVIRONMENT:

he greenhouse effect increases the

temperature of the Earth by trapping heat in
our atmosphere. This keeps the temperature
of the Earth higher than it would be if direct
heating by the Sun was the only source of
warming.When sunlight reaches the surface of
the Earth, some of it is absorbed which warms
the ground and some bounces back to space
as heat. Greenhouse gases that are in the
atmosphere absorb and then redirect some of
this heat back towards the Earth.

WAYS TO OVERCOME:
1.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Buying products with minimal packaging
will help to reduce waste. By recycling half
of your household waste, you can save
2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide annually.
2.

Use Less Heat and Air

Conditioning
Adding insulation to your walls and

installing weather stripping or caulking

around doors and windows can lower your
heating costs more than 25 percent, by
reducing the amount of energy you need
to heat and cool your home. Turn down the
heat while youre sleeping at night or
away during the day, and keep
temperatures moderate at all times. Install
a programmable thermostat because
setting it just 2 degrees lower in winter
and higher in summer could save about
2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.
3.
Replace Your Light Bulbs
Wherever practical, replace regular light
bulbs with compact florescent light (CFL)
bulbs. Replacing just one 60-watt
incandescent light bulb with a CFL will
save you $30 over the life of the bulb.
CFLs also last 10 times longer than
incandescent bulbs, use two-thirds less
energy, and give off 70 percent less heat.
If every Canadian family replaced one
regular light bulb with a CFL, it would

eliminate 90 billion pounds of greenhouse

gases, the same as taking 7.5 million cars
off the road.
4.
Drive Less and Drive Smart
Less driving means fewer emissions.
Besides saving gasoline, walking and
biking are great forms of exercise. Explore
the York Region Transit system and check
out options for carpooling to work or
school.
When you do drive, make sure your car is
running efficiently. For example, keeping
your tires properly inflated can improve
your gas mileage by more than 3 percent.
Every gallon of gas you save not only
helps your budget, it also keeps 20 pounds
of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
5.
Buy Energy-Efficient Products
Home appliances now come in a range of
energy-efficient models, and compact
florescent bulbs are designed to provide
more natural-looking light while using far
less energy than standard light bulbs.

6.
Use Less Hot Water
Set your water heater at 120 degrees to
save energy, and wrap it in an insulating
blanket if it is more than 15 years old. Buy
low-flow showerheads to save hot water
and about 350 pounds of carbon dioxide
yearly. Wash your clothes in warm or cold
water to reduce your use of hot water and
the energy required to produce it. That
change alone can save at least 500
pounds of carbon dioxide annually in most
households.
7.
Use the "Off" Switch
Save electricity and reduce global
warming by turning off lights when you
leave a room, and using only as much
light as you need. And remember to turn
off your television, stereo and computer
when you're not using them. Its also a
good idea to turn off the water when
youre not using it. While brushing your
teeth, shampooing the dog or washing

your car, turn off the water until you

actually need it for rinsing.
8.
Plant a Tree
If you have the means to plant a tree,
start digging. Trees absorb carbon dioxide
and give off oxygen. A single tree will
absorb approximately one ton of carbon
dioxide during its lifetime.
9.

Get a Report Card from Your

Utility Company
Many utility companies provide free home
energy audits to help consumers identify
areas in their homes that may not be
energy efficient. In addition, many utility
companies offer rebate programs to help
pay for the cost of energy-efficient
upgrades.
10. Encourage Others to Conserve
Share information about recycling and
energy conservation with your friends,
neighbors and co-workers, and take
opportunities to encourage public officials

to establish programs and policies that are

good for the environment.

DEPLETION OF OZONE
LAYER
CAUSE BY:
Ozone depletion occurs when
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)formerly found in
aerosol spray cans and refrigerantsare
released into the atmosphere. These gases,
through several chemical
reactions, cause the ozone molecules to
break down, reducing ozone's ultraviolet (UV)
radiation-absorbing capacity.

EFFECT ON LIVING THINGS AND

THE ENVIRONMENT:
Harm to human health:

 More skin cancers, sunburns and

premature aging of the skin.
More cataracts, blindness and other eye
diseases: UV radiation can damage
several parts of the eye, including the
lens, cornea, retina and conjunctiva.

WAYS TO OVERCOME:

Drive less. Nitrous oxide is now the largest

ozone-depleting substance released by
human activities (as well as a potent
greenhouse gas),and it is produced in the
internal combustion that powers most cars. In
the U.S., about 5% of all nitrous oxide
pollution comes from vehicles.To reduce the
amount of nitrogen oxide your car produces,
consider:
Car pooling
Public transport

 Walking
Biking
Driving a hybrid or electric car

CONCLUSION
ACID RAIN:
Acid Rain is a very serious, and
dangerous issue that plagues our world as we
know it today. It is formed when sulfur dioxide
and carbon dioxide mix with the water in the
atmosphere creating sulfuric acid and
carbonic acid. The sulfur dioxide and carbon
dioxide are both released in large amounts
through the burning of different fuels such as
coal and fossil fuels. Acid Rain hurts the
environment by damaging the soil, killing
plant life, damaging wildlife, and even
serverly hurting us humans. The damage it
causes leads to very serious issues, and it
even can effect the lives of those around you.
One way you can stop it, you can start

searching for cleaner forms of energy, such as

solar power and electric cars. It may not seem
as though Acid Rain is much of an issue, but it
can cause more that you can even imagine.

GREENHOUSE EFFECT
The greenhouse affect is a natural process
where the atmosphere traps some of the
sun's energy, warming the Earth enough to
support life. Although the greenhouse effect is
a nature cycle, humans have greatly
increased the concentrations of greenhouse
gases, thus causing a significant increase in
the overall greenhouse effect. A number of
gases are involved in the human caused
enhancement of the greenhouse effect. These
gases include: carbon dioxide (CO2); methane
(CH4); nitrous oxide (N20); CFC's and ozone
(03) Out of all these gases the most important
is carbon dioxide which accounts for around
55% of the change in the intensity of the
Earth's greenhouse effect. The consequence

of the greenhouse effect is that there will a

rise in the sea levels around the world, there
will be dramatic climate changes, and
agriculture will suffer from the fluxes of the
weather. However, it's not too late to cut back
on greenhouse gas emissions, some effective
ways to reduce emissions it to: use cleaner
fuels, use energy efficient machines, develop
alternative sources for energy and to plant
more trees.

DEPLETION OF OZONE LAYER

It is important that we as individuals
educate ourselves of the truths concerning
the depletion of ozone. If each human in this
world would be willing to make a small
sacrifice for the greater good, the future of
our ozone layer would undoubtedly would be
secure.

Introduction
The atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases surrounding
the planetEarth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The
atmosphere protects life onEarth by absorbing ultraviolet
solar radiation, warming the surface throughheat
retention (greenhouse effect), and reducing temperature
extremesbetween day and night.One of the most
important factor drawing international attentionwhich is a
dangerous threat to the ecosystem is AIR pollution.
Theatmosphere, which makes up the largest fraction of
the biosphere, is adynamic system that continuously
absorbs a wide range of solids, liquids andgases from
both natural and man made sources. These substances

travelthrough air, disperse and react with one another

and with other substancesboth physically and chemically.
Most of these constituents, eventually findtheir
depository such as the ocean, or to a receptor such as
man. Variousamounts of contaminants continuously enter
the atmosphere through bothnatural and man made
processes present on the earth. That portion of
thesesubstances which interacts with the environment to
cause toxicity , disease ,aesthetic distress, physiological
effects or environmental decay, has beenlabeled by man
as a pollutant.Air pollution is the contamination of
theatmosphere by any toxic orradioactive gases
andparticulate matter as a result of human activity.

Objectives
To learn more about air pollution.
To determine the causes of air pollution.
To determine the effect of air pollution.
To determine how ways to control air pollution.