Chapter Questions
What naturally occurring cleanser helps to remove pollutants from the atmosphere? Where does it come from? What other mechanisms also act to cleanse the atmosphere of pollutants?
Describe the origins of industrial smog, photochemical smog, and atmospheric brown clouds. What are the differences in the cause and appearance of each?
What are the seven major primary air pollutants and their sources?
What are the major secondary pollutants, and how are they formed?
What is the difference between an acid and a base? What is the pH scale?
What two major acids are involved in acid deposition? Where does each come from?
What impacts does air pollution have on human health? Give the three categories of impact, and distinguish among them.
Describe the negative effects of pollutants on crops, forests, and other materials. Which pollutants are mainly responsible for these effects?
How can a shift in environmental $\mathrm{pH}$ affect aquatic ecosystems? What protects these ecosystems in some regions?
What are the criteria pollutants and the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, and how are the standards used?
Discuss ways in which the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 address the failures of previous legislation.
Describe the new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards and the impacts they will have on industry and on human health.
What are the major steps being taken to reduce emissions from passenger vehicles? What are the CAFE standards, and how are they changing?
How is a cap-and-trade system used to lower air pollution?
How do the global trends in air pollution differ from those in the United States?
Identify and describe several international efforts to limit air pollution.
How is the protective ozone shield formed? What causes its natural breakdown?
How do CFCs affect the concentration of ozone in the stratosphere and contribute to the formation of the ozone hole?
Describe the international efforts that are currently in place to protect the ozone shield. What evidence is there that such efforts have been effective?