AirPollution

AirPollutionisreleasingharmfulchemicalsintotheenvironment.Some harmfulchemicalsareCarbonDioxide,NitrousOxide,SulphurDioxide, CarbonMonoxide,MethaneandChlorofluorocarbons.SocietymuststopAir Pollutionbecausesealevelsarerising

Firstly,AirPollutionrisessealevels.AirPollutionreleasesharmfulchemicals calledgreenhousegases.Thesegreenhousegasesheatupour atmosphere.Furthermoreitisdestroyingourozone(O3)layer.

ThePictureontheleftisamoleculeofCarbon Dioxide.

CarbonDioxide(CO2)isamajorpollutantwhichiscreatedbytheburning ofpetroleumandcoal.CO2clogsourairwithsmoke.Thisworsensourair quality. SulphurDioxide(SO2)isasmellycompoundfoundinvolcanoesfrequently, howeverpeopleusealotofitbecauseitisacomponentofcoalandpetrol aswellasmanyotherfossilfuels.SulphurDioxideisaharmfulchemical becauseitreflectslight.Sinceitreflectslightitcausesextremeclimate changeandnaturaldisastersbecomemorefrequentaccordingtotheNatural GeographicWebsite (http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/globalwarming/poll utionoverview/.) (http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/air/air_maincontent.html)

TheEnvironmentalProtectionDepartmentagreeswiththefactthatHong Kong'sRoadsidestationsincreasedinAPIin2011especiallybecauseof thelackofnewregulations.Whilein2012theHKGovernmenthadacted moreonthisissue.MeanwhileGeneralStationshaveincreasedslowlybut arestillcontributingtothebadairquality.NitrousOxide(N2O)worsensthe airqualitybecauseitisusedalotinvehiclesandistheleadingcontributorin MotorVehicleEmmisionsaccordingtoWikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitric_oxide). ThePictureontherightshowsanimageofthemoleculeofN2O.

ThePictureontherightisarepresentationofthemolecule Methane. (CH4Methane(CH4)isanotherbigcontributorbecauseitisusedtocreate NaturalGas.ThepurposeofNaturalGasistoprovideheat,electricityand fuelforvehicles.Itisverycommonbecauseitisdecayingmatterlikeoil. Althoughitisverycommonitisnotrenewable.Itisalsousedinrocketsand powerplantsaswell.Wikipediaagreeswiththefact (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane).CFC(chlorofluorocarbons)arealso responsibleforthecreationofAerosolandmanyRefrigerants.Howeverthey arenotmajorgreenhouseemmiters.Allofthesechemicalshaveanegative impacttotheenvironmentbyincreasingthetemperaturewhichcausesthe polaricecapstobegintomelt.Sincealotofwaterisconcentratedintheice itbeginstospreadtooceansproducingexcesswater.Thisleadstothe risingsealevels.Flooding,Tsunamisandmanyotherwaterrelateddisasters

becomemorefrequent. InAdditionto thisAir Pollution worsensour airquality. Many greenhouse gaseshave cloggedup ourairwith smoke.

200,000570,000peoplediefromAirPollutioneveryyear.

SCMP(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fcitizenmap.scm p.com%2Freports%2Fview%2F205&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNF9RU 9pyafJM8knqo9KlkV8Vs2wGA)supportsthefactthatShamShuiPohas theworstairquality.AverageIndexis44.58.KwaiChungaverageindex 43.28.KwunChungaverageindex43.08.Accordingtotheecconomist Beijingisthemostpollutedcityintheworld.Ludhianaisalsohasahigh concentrationofsmog.TheEnvironmentalProtectionDepartment agreeswiththefactthatHongKong'sRoadsidestationsincreasedinAPIin 2011especiallybecauseofthelackofnewregulations.Whilein2012the HKGovernmenthadactedmoreonthisissue.MeanwhileGeneralStations haveincreasedslowlybutarestillcontributingtothebadairquality.The

resultofthisisHKhassomeoftheworstAirQuilityintheworld.Accodingto StarWorldNewsAgency,HongKonghasbecomepollutedbecauseof nearbyProvince,Guanzhong.MajorCitieslikeFoshanarepollutingmoe harmfulchemicals.Regulationsinfactorieshavenotchangedinmorethana decade. Finally,AirPollutionusesvaluablenonrenewablematerials.Materialslike coalandpetroleumarenotsustainableaswellasothergreenhousegases. OilandMethanearealsoreducinginquantitynow.TheEncyclopediaof KnowledgebyLouiseSpilsburypg209predictsthattheworldwillnot haveoilandgasby2050.Furthermoretheworldwillalsowon'tconsistof coalby2100.Withagrowingpopulationsocietywillrunoutofthese resourcesevenquicker.

WhatistheGovernmentDoingtoStopAirPollution.

Governmentisactingonthisissuebycreatingmoreenvironmental programs.Oneoftheseprogramshadtakenplacein2011whenthe governmenthadreducedNitricOxideandNitrousOxideEmmisions.The governmenthadreducedtheemmisionsbymorethanaQuartercompared to1999.ChiefExecutiveLeungChunLignhascreateda1.3Billion programmetoremoveolddieselvehiclesfromEurolEurolV.An organisationcalledtheCivicExchangeisacompanythattriestosolve environmentalissuesandisoneofHKsmostinfluentialorganisationsinHK tryingtostopAirPollution.ItsgoalistostopAirPollutionbutitneedsyour help.

QuickFacts 201213,000deathsayearintheUK 1.78 deaths per second ( 0.4/sec) 107 deaths per minute (27/min) 6,390 deaths per hour (1,356/hr) 153,000 deaths per day (37,000/day) 56.0 million deaths per year (14 million/yr) 200,000 to 570,000 people die each year because of Air Pollution.In chinas 14 lagest citys air pollution is resposible for the death of 50,000 new borns each year HKranked8thintheamountofdeathsresultedfromAirPollution.Therateis higherthanVietnam,BamgladeshandSriLanka. WhatistheAPI? TheAirPollutionIndexisanindexwhichrecordsandevaluatedtheAir QualityinacertainAreaproducedbyacertainsource.IftheAPIranges from0100itisasuitableAirQuality.HoweveriftheAPIrangesfrom 100200itisaverybadAirQuality.Occasionallyifitrangesfrom200300it isdangerousforthemajorityofpeopleTheOntarioMinistryofEnvironment statesthattheAPIiscalculatedbymeasuringtheconcentrationofthe greenhousegas.Theymeasurethiseveryhourtogetaccurateresults.Itis comparedtootherchemiclassotheycanevaluatetheairquality. Howyoucanmakeadifference? Wecanplanttrees.Deforestationisamajoremitter.PlantstakeintheCO2 andinreturngiveusOxygen.Wecanalsouseourelectricappliancesless

frequently.TheEnvironmentalProtectionDepartmentsupportstheideathat weuseoureletricityfartoomuchatdawn.Alsoataround19:0021:00we canalsouselesseletricity.

WecanalsostopusingAerosolandCFCRefrigerantsbecausethey releaseharmfulchemicalscalledCFCs.Wecanalsotrytospreadtheword andraiseawareness.AnotherActionwecandoistousePublicTransport anddrivehybrids.Wecanalsodriveelectriccarsbecausetransportisa mobilepolluter.YoucanalsoRecyclebecausethatsavestheburningof fossilfuelsfromanufacturingproductslikeGlass,Plastic,Aluminum,Tinand Cardboardandmanyothermaterials.ProfessorAlexisLauanAtmospheric Scientiststatesthatmobilevehicleswillbeamoreofachallengebecause theyarealargeraudiencetotargetandtheyaremobile.Theworldiswaiting forchangebecausecoalwillrunoutby2100.Sowhyareyouwaiting.You

cansignthispetition. SpreadtheWord!
ByNeilAlbuquerqueResearch:AlenAlshinabayev,EdwardMizoguchi,ConradSzymanskiInterview:ReaganLee