Meteorology 106
Air Pollution Study Guide
After the "Air Pollution" lecture and readings you should be able to answer and discuss the following questions.
What is air pollution?
When was the first pollution produced by humans?
Briefly describe the early history of air pollution.
What is smog?
Who enacted the first Clean Air Act? When?
When did the United States pass its first Clean Air Act? Why did it wait so long after the UK had passed its first Clean Air Act?
What has been the impact of the Clean Air Act?
List the types and sources of air pollutants.
Why is carbon monoxide so dangerous?
Why are some (but not all) hydrocarbons considered dangerous?
Which hydrocarbon is intentionally inhaled every day by millions of stupid U.S. citizens? ("Stupid" is defined here as "someone who knows the health risk as stated on warning labels, chooses to ignore those warnings, and then proceeds to expose themselves and those around them to highly addictive and toxic chemicals".)
Why are temperature inversions and pollution a potentially deadly combination?
What is a pollution dome?
What is a pollution plume?
What are some of the other forms of pollution?