Final Reflection
Final Reflection Essay
I honestly do not believe that Introduction to Environmental Science (EVR2001) has had a large impact on my life. However, I can attest to the fact that this class has somewhat broadened my understanding of many current global environmental issues, and has allowed me to gain a new perspective on the way I live my everyday life in relation to the environment, even if I have only made a few minor changes to my daily routine. On the other hand, certain topics that we have discussed in lecture, and especially reflecting on my engagement preparation assignments, have shown me that little things I can do actually do have a big impact on the environment as a whole. The environmental issues that I consider most relevant to my …show more content…
Air pollution is defined as the corruption of the air quality and environment by particulates or anything harmful added to the air, including cars, industrial factories, and common household items. (“Air Pollution”). Most air pollution stems from human activities, which could be a variety of things, from the burning of fossil fuels to produce electricity and exhaust from factories, to common household products, especially cleaning supplies. One of the best examples of how air pollution has already affected our lives is the Great London Smog, as discussed in our textbook, Environmental Science: A Global Concern. In 1952, at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, an extremely thick cloud of fog and smoke came down onto the city of London. This lasted for over four days, and was responsible for the deaths of over 4,700 people, due to extremely poor visibility, lack of oxygen and particulate contaminated air. Scientific research into this anomaly found that this was due to a temperature inversion, which is when the ‘layers’ of air get out of order, and the coldest air settles on the bottom, underneath other layers of warmer air. (Cunningham). This cold air traps pollutants in and forces them to stay in one place, rather than dissolving out into the atmosphere.
I honestly do not believe that Introduction to Environmental Science (EVR2001) has had a large impact on my life. However, I can attest to the fact that this class has somewhat broadened my understanding of many current global environmental issues, and has allowed me to gain a new perspective on the way I live my everyday life in relation to the environment, even if I have only made a few minor changes to my daily routine. On the other hand, certain topics that we have discussed in lecture, and especially reflecting on my engagement preparation assignments, have shown me that little things I can do actually do have a big impact on the environment as a whole. The environmental issues that I consider most relevant to my …show more content…
Air pollution is defined as the corruption of the air quality and environment by particulates or anything harmful added to the air, including cars, industrial factories, and common household items. (“Air Pollution”). Most air pollution stems from human activities, which could be a variety of things, from the burning of fossil fuels to produce electricity and exhaust from factories, to common household products, especially cleaning supplies. One of the best examples of how air pollution has already affected our lives is the Great London Smog, as discussed in our textbook, Environmental Science: A Global Concern. In 1952, at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, an extremely thick cloud of fog and smoke came down onto the city of London. This lasted for over four days, and was responsible for the deaths of over 4,700 people, due to extremely poor visibility, lack of oxygen and particulate contaminated air. Scientific research into this anomaly found that this was due to a temperature inversion, which is when the ‘layers’ of air get out of order, and the coldest air settles on the bottom, underneath other layers of warmer air. (Cunningham). This cold air traps pollutants in and forces them to stay in one place, rather than dissolving out into the atmosphere.