Human Impact on the Atmosphere
Why is the atmosphere important?
• Air is an important natural
resource.
• The air you breathe forms
part of Earth’s atmosphere.
• The atmosphere is a mixture
of gases that surrounds Earth.
Human Impact on the Atmosphere
• The atmosphere provides
gases that organisms need to
survive, including oxygen and
carbon dioxide.
• The atmosphere absorbs
harmful high-energy radiation
coming from space.
Human Impact on the Atmosphere
Why is the atmosphere important?
• The atmosphere keeps Earth
warm.
• Without the atmosphere,
temperatures on Earth would not
be stable.
• The greenhouse effect is the way
by which certain gases in the
atmosphere absorb and reradiate
thermal energy.
Human Impact on the Atmosphere
What is air pollution?
• The contamination of the
atmosphere by pollutants from
human and natural sources is called
air pollution.
• Air pollution can come from natural
sources, such as volcanic eruptions,
wildfires, and dust storms.
• In cities and suburbs, most air
pollution comes from the burning of
fossil fuels.
Human Impact on the Atmosphere
• Air pollution can be classified as
gases such as carbon monoxide,
sulfur dioxide, and ground-level
ozone.
• Air pollution can also be classified as
particulates. Particulates consist of
tiny particles of solids that are
suspended in air or water.
• The particulates from vehicle exhaust
are a major cause of pollution in
cities.
What pollutants can form from vehicle
exhaust?
• Vehicle exhaust is a common source
of air pollution in urban areas.
• Ground-level ozone is produced when
sunlight reacts with vehicle exhaust
and oxygen in the air.
• Although ozone in the ozone layer is
necessary for life, ground-level ozone
is harmful.
Human Impact on the Atmosphere
• Vehicle exhaust also produces
smog.
• Smog is a brownish haze that
forms when ground-level
ozone and vehicle exhaust
react in the presence of
sunlight.
Human Impact on the Atmosphere
• Smog can damage the lungs and
irritate the eyes and nose.
How does pollution from human activities
produce acid precipitation?
• Precipitation such as rain, sleet, or
snow that contains acids from air
pollution is called acid precipitation.
• Burning fossil fuels releases sulfur
dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the
air.
• When these gases mix with water in
the atmosphere, they form sulfuric
acid and nitric acid.
• Sulfuric acid and nitric acid are
strong acids. They can make
precipitation so acidic that it is
harmful to the environment.
Human Impact on the Atmosphere
What are some effects of acid precipitation?
• Acid precipitation can cause soil
and water to become more acidic
than normal.
• Changes in soil acidity cause soil
to lose some of the nutrients that
plants need.
Human Impact on the Atmosphere
• Acid precipitation can also
make lakes and streams more
acidic and cause soils to
release toxic metals into the
water.
• This can harm aquatic
organisms.
Human Impact on the Atmosphere
What are measures of air quality?
• Air quality is the measure of
how clean or polluted the air is.
• As pollution increases, air
quality decreases.
• Two major threats to air quality
are vehicle exhausts and
industrial pollutants.
• The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a
number used to describe the air
quality of a location.
• The higher the AQI number, the
more people are likely to have
health problems linked to air
pollution.
• The air inside a building can
become more polluted than the
air outside.
• What are some sources of indoor air
pollution?
How can air quality affect health?
• Daily exposure to small amounts of air
pollution can cause serious health
problems.
• Certain people, such as children, elderly
people, and people with health
problems, are especially vulnerable to
the effects air pollution.
• Short-term effects include coughing,
headaches, and wheezing. Long-term
effects include lung cancer and
emphysema.
How might humans be changing Earth’s
climates?
• As a result of burning fossil fuels,
the atmosphere today contains
about 37 percent more carbon
dioxide than it did in the mid-
1700s.
• Average global temperatures
have also risen in recent decades.
• It is hard to know exactly how
much the extra greenhouse
gases change the
temperatures.
• Computer models designed to
understand climate change
predict that average global
temperatures will continue
rising.
What are some predicted effects of climate
change?
• Many changes on Earth have
already been linked to higher
temperatures.
• Changes in rainfall patterns and
rising sea levels will have many
negative effects on life on Earth.
• Such changes will likely have
political and economic effects on
the world.
How is the ozone layer affected by air
pollution?
• Earth’s protective ozone layer is thinning
over the polar regions, allowing more
harmful ultraviolet radiation to reach
Earth’s surface.
• Chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs) cause ozone to break down. CFCs
once had many industrial uses, but now
they are banned.
• However, CFCs released in the
atmosphere decades ago will stay there
many more decades, breaking down more
What are conservation and stewardship?
• Humans greatly affect the land,
water, and air.
• If we wish to keep using our
resources in the future, we need to
conserve and care for them.
• Conservation is the wise use of
natural resources. By practicing
conservation, we can help make
sure that resources will be around
for future generations.
• Stewardship is the careful and
responsible management of a
resource.
• Stewardship of Earth’s natural
resources will ensure that the
environment stays clean enough to
help keep people and other living
things healthy.
• Any action that helps to maintain or
improve the environment is an act of
stewardship.
How can we reduce air pollution?
• There are many ways we can
reduce air pollution.
• Everybody can help reduce air
pollution in many different
ways.
• Energy conservation is one of
the most important ways to
reduce air pollution.
How can we reduce air pollution?
• Fossil fuels are the most
commonly used energy resource.
• When fossil fuels are burned,
they release pollution into the
air.
• If we use less energy, we burn
fewer fossil fuels.
• There are many ways to conserve
• There are many ways to generate
energy without creating much air
pollution.
• By developing technology for
alternative energy resources, we
reduce the amount of pollution
created by burning fossil fuels.
• For example, compact fluorescent
lightbulbs help limit air pollution.
They use less energy to make the
same amount of light.
• Governments in many countries
work independently and together
to reduce air pollution.
• Because air isn’t contained by
borders, some solutions must be
international.
• The Kyoto Protocol is a worldwide
effort to limit the release of
greenhouse gasses—pollution that
can warm the atmosphere.
