GEOG 101: Day 16

Finishing Up Air Pollution; Starting on Climate Change

Housekeeping Items Did anyone turn up anything on Energy From Waste

incinerators and how they’re being handled in Europe? When we talked about oceans we talked about ocean

acidification. According to the CBC this week, it is already having drastic effects on scallop and oyster harvests in Cowichan and Qualicum Beach.

Today, I want to brief go through the missing slides from Tuesday’s presentation and then show a video on ExxonMobil and climate change. Watch the short video (“The Hole Truth: Have We Fixed the Hole in Ozone Layer?”) on ozone depletion and the Montreal Protocol on your own: https://marlin.viu.ca/malabin/door.pl/0/0/0/5?srchfield1=GENERAL^&SUBJECT^&GENERAL^&record%20id^&searchdata1=100047776. See also “Shattered Sky: The Battle for Energy, Economy and Environment.”

Government agencies share in dealing with air pollution• Provincial/territorial

- Managed through each environment ministry- Canadian Council of Ministers of the

Environment (CCME)- Harmonization Accord, Canada-Wide Standards

Sub-Agreement, National Ambient Air Quality Objectives

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Government agencies share in dealing with air pollution• Municipal

- Only Montreal and Greater Vancouver regulate sources of air pollution

- Most municipalities raise public awareness

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Reasons for the decline in some pollutants• Cleaner-burning vehicles and catalytic

converters decrease carbon monoxide• Permit-trading programs and clean coal

technologies reduce SO2 emissions• Scrubbers = technologies that chemically

convert or physically remove pollutants before they leave the smokestacks

• Phase-out of leaded gasoline• Improved technologies and federal policies

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Canada is attempting to “turn the corner” on air pollution• 2007: Turning the corner: An Action Plan to Reduce

Greenhouse Gases and Air Pollution- Targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) and criteria air

contaminant (CAC) emissions

FIGURE 13.16

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The reality is that GHG emissions have been going up radically!

Smog is the most common, widespread air quality problem • Smog = unhealthy

mixtures of air pollutants over urban areas

• Industrial (gray air) smog = industries burn coal or oil- Occurs in cooler, hilly

areas- Government regulations

in developed countries reduced smog

- Coal-burning industrializing countries face significant health risks

FIGURE 13.17

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Photochemical (brown air) smog is produced by a complex series of reactions

• Light-driven reactions of primary pollutants and normal atmospheric compounds

• Morning traffic exhaust releases pollutants

• Irritates eyes, noses, and throats

• Vehicle inspection programs have decreased smog

FIGURE 13.18

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• 17.16

Industrial smog Photochemical smog

FIGURE 13.18FIGURE 13.1713-9

Air quality is a rural issue, too• Airborne pesticides from farms• Industrial pollutants drifting from cities, factories

and powerplants• Feedlots, where cattle, hogs, or chickens are raised

in dense concentrations- Voluminous amounts of methane, hydrogen

sulfide, and ammonia- People living or working nearby have high rates

of respiratory problems

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Industrializing nations are suffering increasing air pollution

• Outdoor pollution is increasing• China has the world’s worst air pollution

- 80% of Chinese cities have emissions above the safety threshold

• Southern Asian brown cloud = a 3 km-thick layer of pollution that reduces sunlight, affects climate, decreases productivity, and kills thousands each year

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Synthetic chemicals deplete stratospheric ozone• Ozone layer = ozone in the lower stratosphere

- 12 ppm concentrations effectively block incoming damaging ultraviolet radiation

• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) = chemicals that attack ozone- 1 million metric tons/year were produced- Releases chlorine atoms that split ozone

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The “ozone hole”• Ozone hole =

ozone levels over Antarctica had declined by 40-60%

• Global ozone depletion causes skin cancer, harms crops and decreases ocean productivity

FIGURE 13.19

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There are still many questions to be resolved about ozone depletion• Will ozone depletion spread from the polar regions to

encompass mid-latitude regions?• What is the actual relationship between ozone

depletion and human health impacts?• What are the other potential impacts of ozone

depletion (e.g. on ecosystems)?• Are the substitute chemicals that are being proposed

in international agreements definitely less damaging to the stratospheric ozone layer?

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The Montreal Protocol addressed ozone depletion

• 1987: Montreal Protocol = 180 nations agreed to cut CFC production in half- Follow-up agreements deepened cuts, advanced

timetables and addresses other ozone-depleting chemicals- Today, production and use of ozone-depleting chemicals

has decreased 95%- The ozone layer is beginning to recover

• Challenges still face us- CFCs will remain in the stratosphere for a long time- Nations can ask for exemptions to the ban

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The Montreal Protocol is a success• Considered the biggest environmental success

story- Policymakers included industry in helping

solve the problem- Adaptive management strategy allowed

changes in response to new scientific data, technological advances, and economic figures

• The Montreal Protocol can serve as a model for international environmental cooperation

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Acid deposition is another transboundary pollution problem• Acidic deposition = the deposition of acid, or acid-

forming pollutants, from the atmosphere onto Earth’s surface- Acid rain = precipitation of acid- Atmospheric deposition = the wet or dry deposition

on land of pollutants• Originates from burning fossil fuels

- release sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides- react with water to form sulfuric and nitric acids

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Sources of acid deposition

FIGURE 13.21

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Effects of acid deposition on ecosystems in Northeastern North America• Accelerated leaching of base cations from soil • Accumulation of sulphur and nitrogen in soil • Hindering of plant uptake of water and nutrients• Caused calcium to leach from needles of red spruce• Increased mortality of sugar maples • Acidified many lakes• Lowered lakes’ capacity to neutralize further acids• Elevated aluminum levels in surface waters • Negatively affected entire food webs

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Acid deposition has not been reduced as much as scientists had hoped

• New technologies such as scrubbers have helped• SO2 emissions are lower

• NOx emissions are higher• Acid deposition’s effects are worse than predicted

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Indoor air pollution• Indoor air contains higher concentrations of

pollutants than outdoor air - 6,000 people die per day from indoor air

pollution• The average person in North America is indoors at

least 90% of the time- Exposed to synthetic materials (insecticides,

cleaning fluids, plastics, and chemically treated wood)

- 1973-74: ventilation systems were sealed off and windows put in that did not open, trapping pollutants inside, leading to “sick building syndrome”

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Indoor air pollution in the developing world arises from fuelwood burning

• Burning wood, charcoal, dung, crop wastes for cooking and eating

• Kills 1.6 million people each year

• Causes pneumonia, bronchitis, allergies, cataracts, asthma, heart disease, cancer and premature death

FIGURE 13.25

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[solar ovens are onealternative]

Tobacco smoke and radon are the most dangerous indoor pollutants in the developed world• Secondhand smoke from cigarettes is especially

dangerous - Containing over 4000 dangerous chemicals- Causes eye, nose, and throat irritation- Smoking has declined in developed nations

• After cigarette smoke, radon gas is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the developed world- Colourless, odourless gas that can seep into

buildings 13-23

Many VOCs pollute indoor air• VOCs = volatile organic compounds• Released by everything from plastics and oils to

perfumes and paints • Most VOCs are released in very small amounts• Unclear health implications due to low

concentrations• Also include pesticides, which are found indoors

more often than outdoors due to seepage• Formaldehyde, which leaks from pressed wood

and insulation, irritates mucous membranes and induces skin allergies

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Sources of indoor air pollution

FIGURE 13.27

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Living organisms can pollute indoors• Tiny living organisms can also pollute• Includes dust mites and animal dander worsen

asthma• Fungi, mold, mildew, airborne bacteria cause

severe allergies, asthma, and other respiratory ailments

• Sick building syndrome = a sickness produced by indoor pollution with general and nonspecific symptoms- Solved by using low-toxicity building materials

and good ventilation13-26

How safe is your indoor environment?

Think about the amount of time you spend indoors. Name the potential indoor air quality hazards in your home, work, or school environment.

• Are these spaces well-ventilated? •What could you do to make the indoor spaces you use safer?

weighing

the issues

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