POLLUTION Cause-and-Effect  ... Fill in the words  Extra Tricky Quiz  ... Math Teaser
NEXT TOPIC: CLEAN FUELS PREVIOUS TOPIC: TRANSPOR- TATION HOME	POLLUTION is when the air, water, or land become dirty through the actions of people. Some types of pollution – such as litter along the beach – are easy to see. Other types of pollution, such as chemicals in the water or air, are not as easy to see but can be even more harmful.

A.	oil tanker		__.
B.	storm drain		__.
C.			__.
D.			__.

(answer)

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Here are some ways POLLUTION can cause problems:

• Pollution is bad for our health. It can make us s _ _ _ and in some cases can even cause death.
• Pollution is harmful to the environment. Toxic chemicals in the air, water, soil, and food chain harm p _ _ _ _ _ and a _ _ _ _ _ _ .
• It costs a lot of money to clean up damage from p _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .

AIR	+	FUEL	=	ENERGY	+	EMISSIONS

• Carbon monoxide (CO) can cause headaches and place additional stress on people with heart disease. In higher doses, it binds to red blood cells and can cause
  carbon m _ _ _ _ _ _ _ poisoning.
• "Smog" contains ozone, which is created by oxides of n _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (NOx) and hydrocarbons. It can cause shortness of breath and lung damage.
• Other fuel e _ _ _ _ _ _ _ s, such as particulates, may cause cancer.
• Carbon d _ _ _ _ _ _ is a major contributor to "global climate change." Effects of global climate change include rising sea levels, changes in rainfall patterns, and increased severity of major storms.

Transportation fuels account for about one-third of the United States’ CO2 emissions. The continued (and increasing) emission of CO2 worries people concerned about
"g l _ _ _ _   c l _ _ _ _ _   c h _ _ _ _ ," also known as the "greenhouse effect."

Every time fossil fuel (like petroleum, also known as "crude o _ _") is taken out of the ground and burned for fuel, CO2 is released into the atmosphere (air).
 

Most transportation fuels - gasoline and diesel fuel, for example - are made from oil. Oil is considered a non-renewable fuel. When oil is burned, CO2 is added to the atmosphere. But nature can't make CO2 back into oil very quickly, so the amount of CO2 in the air keeps increasing. (And the amount of oil in the ground keeps decreasing.)

When plants are used to make fuels, these fuels are r _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . When renewable fuels are burned, CO2 is added to the atmosphere, but in this case there is a balance, since growing plants remove CO2. In a perfectly renewable system, the same number of plants that are harvested are replanted. This way, the amount of CO2 being added to the atmosphere is the same amount that the growing plants are using, and there is no net increase.

Using renewable fuels instead of non-renewable fuels can reduce the total amount of CO2 added to the atmosphere. Biodiesel and alcohol fuels made from plant matter are examples of renewable fuels.

Electricity can also be considered a renewable fuel - IF it is produced from renewable energy sources such as wind, sun, plants ("biomass"), or hydropower. (More information on electricity.)