Chapter 21. Chapter 21: Air Pollution

What are the health, economic, and ecological consequences of air pollution?

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Guiding Question 21.3

What are the health, economic, and ecological consequences of air pollution?

Why You Should Care

Air pollution has many components and many impacts on humans, ecosystems, and economies. For humans, air pollution has direct health impacts. These impacts are varied and depend on which pollutant is inhaled, what concentration is inhaled, and for how long. In general, medical research groups all impacts into general measures.

Environmentally, air pollution can travel with prevailing winds far from its original source: This transboundary property means that source and impact can be separated by political and national boundaries. This makes the clean-up and regulation of the air pollution much more challenging. In the Northeast United States, forests are dying due to acid deposition from coal-fired power plants in the Upper Midwest. Which state pays for the costly clean-up: the source state or the impacted state? What if the pollution crosses national boundaries?

This brings up the economic aspect of air pollution: Does transboundary air pollution reinforce the concept of “sacrifice zones”? These are areas that suffer environmental impact (increased death and environmental damage) for the greater good. Should all people have the right to a safe place to live? Environmental justice would argue it does. Many cases of air pollution lead to questions of who lives in these sacrifice zones—most often, the residents are minorities and working poor. This leads to questions of environmental racism since these residents are the powerless ones of society. More than any other type of pollution, air pollution forces us to address how to measure consequences.

Question Test Your Vocabulary

Choose the correct term for each of the following definitions:

Term Definition
UvCDaBSoZfKrz++M+ZXez7vAGEJ0y2Lz409ysEwW07KJ/xz3TEB90VvKO/yaQtakTjUN88GZvFOxpjn9AYi/pUED3d3AZAEWd5VmIm4ElRuYdUssXhkfIsuVkyk= Precipitation that contains sulfuric or nitric acid; dry par­ticles may also fall and become acidified once they mix with water.
zHOr3pIiKS4FhCSVHVrFY0I4f7IDzO1AB9iznY1OZXKhtbiGLdMEGqFeMLwHcgi7FD7rsg2U+gDg6tNqXmDTi0pQ8mqODs3HHvK8EIwue5l9yISrD/ipZOdvXWw= Pollution that is produced in one area but falls in a different state or nation.
U4VhDEBVoLg+8miLJkLchqUF1OEKczvw+gB4XFr9h/xfnMPJehK6S1xqYkiU6IYJjkRSpIkJXqvkn6IGpAcc1AkP46KsLTT4ph46wI2MTdykmph1McJNk7PKwzk= The concept that access to a clean, healthy environ­ment is a basic human right.
7VStvj0h5OuOh4YYv4LVcWU/hw0qnwwjmEkvtL4dh+MsCbHM1OJyF+SVXegrNyomVZq+5czDr/oWvsyY4SD/uHzvIkORd5G4sCGctj+1Pf/6JqHQM5WmVoix/Zw= Occurs when minority communities face more exposure to pollution than average for the region.
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Infographic 21.3

Question 21.1

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Question 21.2

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Question 21.3

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Question 21.4

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There are other factors that play into the death rate: Prevailing winds or the topography of the city’s landscape may sweep away the PM2.5 particles more slowly or quickly. If they leave more slowly, they will have a greater effect and increase the death rate. Every city will be slightly different.
Infographic 21.5

Question 21.5

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Question 21.6

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Question 21.7

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Question 21.8

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Dry deposition takes place in particulate matter, which is more likely to fall out of the atmosphere sooner, and therefore closer, to the source. Wet deposition is carried in smaller droplets in clouds that travel farther from the source.