Результаты исследования обучающихся в проекте Environmental Protection

Автор и участники проекта

Панина Анастасия

Участники группы: "Экологи"

Тема исследования группы

Causes and consequences of air pollution

Причины и последствия загрязнения воздуха

Проблемный вопрос (вопрос для исследования)

What are the causes and consequences of air pollution?

Каковы причины и последствия загрязнения воздуха?

Гипотеза исследования

We believe that air pollution, possibly caused by human activities and natural phenomena, can lead to a deterioration in living conditions on the planet.

Мы считаем, что загрязнение воздуха, возможными причинами которого выступают деятельность человека и природные явления, может привести к ухудшении условий существования на планете.

Цели исследования

- выявить причины загрязнения воздуха;

- выявить последствия загрязнения воздуха;

- предложить варианты минимизации загрязнения воздуха;

- построить ментальную карту.

Результаты проведённого исследования

To identify the number of environmentally friendly people, we have developed the questionnaire “Your contribution to minimizing air pollution: Let's see how eco-friendly you are!”.

Questionnaire: Your contribution to minimizing air pollution:Let's see how eco-friendly you are!

Results Interpretation

Mostly A: you are a true conservationist! Try to inspire other people to follow your example.

Mostly B: You harm nature minimally, but perhaps you don’t think about it. Try to make an informed choice to keep the air and environment clean! Our project will help you understand the problem of air pollution and introduce you to ways to minimize it.

Mostly C: You may not realize how much you harm clean air and the environment. Take this problem into account! Our project will help you understand the problem of air pollution and introduce you to ways to minimize it.

'Air pollution is contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere.

Causes: 1. Emissions From Industrial Plants and Manufacturing Activities: With the current rate of industrialization and increased manufacturing activities, high levels of smoke, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter are emitted into the air.

2. Combustion From Fossil Fuels: In the modern world, fossil fuel combustion is the biggest contributor /kənˈtrɪbjətər/ to air pollution. The leading culprit (преступник) today is traffic, but factories and power plants also continue to contribute to some extent. Conventional power plants that combust fossil fuels to produce energy emits hazardous gases into the air.

3. Farming Chemicals and Household Products: Use of household and farming chemicals produce considerable amounts of harmful foreign substances into the atmosphere and have the potential to cause air pollution. Dusting of crops, painting supplies, home fumigation, household cleaning products, fertilizer powder, insect/pets sprays, hair sprays, and deodorant sprays release harmful chemicals into the air, causing pollution.

4. Natural Causes of Air Pollution: The majority of people only perceive air pollution as a consequence of human actions. In some cases, natural events can as well cause air pollution. However, they are rarely witnessed, and some of them are very disastrous and difficult to prevent from happening (volcanic eruptions, whirlwinds, forest fires, and gaseous releases from decaying plants and animals or radioactive decay of rocks).

5. Other Causes: The majority of developing countries burn charcoal, wood, and crop waste to produce fuel used for cooking and heating. In some regions, waste is incinerated instead of being land-filled or recycled, that contributes to air pollution. Some agricultural practices like burning agricultural land after harvest or burning as a mechanism for clearing land cover is also a significant cause of air pollution.

Consequences

1. Acid rain. The accumulation of toxic vapors and gases in the air causes the formation of acids that fall with the water of the rains, damaging the crops, eroding the soil, buildings, sculptures and natural monuments, altering the animal and vegetal population, and of course the man .

2. Harmful effects on respiratory health. The US Environmental Protection Agency has determined in the Air Quality Index that pollutants directly affect lung function and increase heart attack statistics leading to serious respiratory conditions and life-threatening diseases such as lung cancer. Undoubtedly, this means a deterioration in the physical and mental health of people, since the suffering of chronic respiratory diseases affects the respiratory capacity of people and oxygen levels in the blood.

3. Greenhouse Effect. This is a phenomenon due to which gases in the atmospheric layer retain the heat emitted by the Earth. This accumulation of temperature comes from solar radiation and when it bounces on the earth's surface it is trapped in the gas wall. The gases responsible for this phenomenon are precisely the two most toxic agents in the air: carbon dioxide and methane. Scientific evidence has shown that the greenhouse effect is the cause of global warming.

4. Field damage. Air pollution directly affects agriculture because the plants develop a high sensitivity to the pollutants that float in the air that deteriorates the quality of the crops. Ironically, the farming And livestock supply 40% of ammonia gases that pollute the air. These emissions are caused by livestock, fertilizers and indiscriminate deforestation.

5. Extinction of animal species. Air pollution causes alterations in the balance of ecosystems, producing a variation in the number of species of flora and fauna, increasing some species and radically reducing others, thus altering the delicate balance of nature.

Mind Map

To attract more people to lead an eco-friendly lifestyle, we have created the checklist “Eco Week”

Check List: Eco week

Вывод

During the research, we came to the conclusion that emissions from industrial plants, traffic, farming and household chemicals, volcanic eruptions, whirlwinds, forest fires couse air pollution.

The consequences are disastrous: acid rains, harmful effects on the respiratory capacity of people and oxygen levels in the blood, the greenhouse effect which is the cause of global warming, extinction of animal species.

Thus it's extremely important to switch to ecofrienly lifestyle by burning less gasoline, choosing an electric car for driving, buying local food etc.

In our research, we found confirmation of the hypothesis that air pollution, caused by human activity and natural phenomena, can lead to a deterioration in living conditions on the planet.

Полезные ресурсы

TED Talks

The Guardian

Greenpeace

Другие документы

Учебный проект Environmental Protection