Chemistry in society focuses on the problems that humans perform against the ecosystem. This essay will discuss direct problems with the environment and ways in which I personally can help solve these problems through making different decisions in my life. The issues on hand include that I will discuss will include air pollution, ozone depletion, and global warming. The solutions to these problems with combine my ideas as well as those discussed in class.
Air Pollution:.
Air pollution, as mentioned in class, is mainly due to four major gaseous pollutants in our troposphere. The four pollutants consist of carbon monoxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxide. Carbon monoxide which is released from cars and furnaces can be the most deadly out of all four pollutants. Small amounts of carbon monoxide that are inhaled cause learning disabilities where large amounts can lead to death. Ozone is a special form of oxygen that has an odor and can cause a reduction in the function of your lungs. Sulfur oxide and Nitrogen oxide both affect breathing which create lower resistance to respiratory infection and tend to mostly target children and the elderly. Some solutions that I have come up with to fight the problems of air pollution in the environment include: 1) put carbon monoxide detectors in my home to help me become aware of leaks of this gaseous pollutant inside my home which could have negative affects upon me; 2) conserving electricity by not leaving my computer on, turning off the lights, limiting the amount of television that I watch, and when using the washer and dryer, making sure that the loads are full. When using these household appliances the electricity is coming from a coal burning plant which is producing mass quantities of SO2 in the air and by limiting my usage the amount of SO2 in the air will be reduced; 3) I will work on installing solar panels into my home to help produce electricity because it is more environmentally friendly and cost effective.
