Atmospheric Issues
Atmospheric issues in today's society are worse than ever even though precautions have been taken in highly developed countries. While many have taken steps to reduce these issues, them and many under developed countries still continue to pour out bad pollutants in the atmosphere. Today I will show you more about ozone depletion and how it relates to indoor air pollution.
According to our text ozone "is a naturally produced, essential component in the stratosphere, which encircles our planet some 10 to 45 km (6 to 28 mi) above the surface." (Berg, Hager, & Hassenzahl. 2011). Ozone in the stratosphere is a good thing, when in this layer it absorbs much of the suns ultraviolet rays and protects us from harm. In the troposphere however, it is a different story. Ozone there is a combination of hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide, oxygen, and automobile gasses that comes together as a secondary air pollutant. This pollutant not only injures plant tissue, but can go as far as to trigger asthma, cause respiratory infections, and chronic bronchitis just to name a few. Each year for a few months, there is a natural thinning of ozone in the stratosphere. In 1985 scientists found that the thinning layer was larger than what it should have been if natural causes were the only thing effecting it. The primary cause for the loss of ozone is a chemical compound called chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs.
In developed countries, contaminants of indoor air pollution are carbon monoxide, cigarette smoke, and radon for example. In many developing countries, people suffer from indoor air pollutants. In these types of countries, pollutants generally come from cooking indoors or to heat water where people use such fuels as firewood and animal dung. Carbon monoxide released in cooking causes similar effects to that of ozone in the atmosphere such as respiratory infections and eye infections.
There have been efforts to mitigate effects of each of these types of pollutants. In today's
According to our text ozone "is a naturally produced, essential component in the stratosphere, which encircles our planet some 10 to 45 km (6 to 28 mi) above the surface." (Berg, Hager, & Hassenzahl. 2011). Ozone in the stratosphere is a good thing, when in this layer it absorbs much of the suns ultraviolet rays and protects us from harm. In the troposphere however, it is a different story. Ozone there is a combination of hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide, oxygen, and automobile gasses that comes together as a secondary air pollutant. This pollutant not only injures plant tissue, but can go as far as to trigger asthma, cause respiratory infections, and chronic bronchitis just to name a few. Each year for a few months, there is a natural thinning of ozone in the stratosphere. In 1985 scientists found that the thinning layer was larger than what it should have been if natural causes were the only thing effecting it. The primary cause for the loss of ozone is a chemical compound called chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs.
In developed countries, contaminants of indoor air pollution are carbon monoxide, cigarette smoke, and radon for example. In many developing countries, people suffer from indoor air pollutants. In these types of countries, pollutants generally come from cooking indoors or to heat water where people use such fuels as firewood and animal dung. Carbon monoxide released in cooking causes similar effects to that of ozone in the atmosphere such as respiratory infections and eye infections.
There have been efforts to mitigate effects of each of these types of pollutants. In today's