Key Points In This Chapter

KEY POINTS IN THIS CHAPTER

• Air pollution can involve particulate matter and a variety of gaseous substances.

• Some air pollution comes from natural sources that cannot be controlled.

• Much air pollution comes from emissions we see from cars, trucks, power plants, construction, garbage burning, and other industries.

• The amount of air pollution on our planet varies greatly from place to place, with urban areas in developing countries and in places like India and China having the most air pollution.

• Thermal or temperature inversions contribute to trapped air pollution that cannot be dispersed because of air trapping.

• There is a big difference between London fog and Los Angeles fog, although both are hazardous to human health.

• Small particulate matter is worse for your lungs than larger particulate matter.

• Ozone helps to protect us when it is high in the stratosphere but when it is on the ground, it is a respiratory irritant.

• Acid rain comes from many industrial processes; it can fall to the earth as wet or dry deposition of sulfuric acid or nitric acid.