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| Air Pollution Around the Globe |
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| The state of Earth's atmosphere is growing more polluted, largely due to the rapid increase of fossil fuel and other product use. There are several main culprits for air pollution, and they each result in concentrations of pollutants that vary according to location. An area with high levels of pollution can have serious health related consequences. The following page expains the different theories- both pessimistic and optimistic- about what this means for our future. There is a wide range of views on what the state of our air (and consequently, the actual Earth) will be in the next few centuries; some insist that global warming will result in everything from bigger, more frequent hurricanes, to rising sea levels, to the possibility that Alaska will become the new Hawaii- just with grizzly bears. . |
| In each action we must look beyond the action at our past, present, and future state, and at others whom it affects, and see the relations of all those things. And then we shall be very cautious. -Pascal, Pensees |
| It's Getting Hot In Here Our changing atmosphere is letting in increased sun radiation (see aerosols, ozone) / A polluted atmosphere is a much better insulator than a clean one / The effect? Ultimately, we might find ourselves with a decreased food supply, higher sea levels, more extreme weather, increased spread of disease, more respiratory health defects... |
| It is a small world after all...and because of this, it is a more polluted one. Using refined petroleum, we are able to hop continents on a plane, or eat a mango in Bangor that has been imported from Mexico; heat our homes in the winter, and cool them in the summer. All of this has a price, however. While we cannot slow down inevitable industrial progress, neither can we continue to waste precious resources and pollute our skies doing so. |
| A balance is needed to ensure that the future will not only be a technologically and industrially advanced one, but a clean and sustainable one. After all, even the fastest convertible wouldn't be fun to drive if you choked on a mouthful of smog when driving it. Click on the first two green links in the picture above to learn more about this issue. |