Transport Air Pollution

Vehicular pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment by motor vehicles. These are the materials, known as pollutants, have several bad effects on human health and the ecosystem.

Air pollution is caused by the solid and liquid particles and certain gases that are suspended in the air. These particles and gases can be come from car and truck exhaust, factories, dust, pollen, mold spores, volcanoes and wildfires. The solid and liquid particles suspended in our air is called aerosols.

Environmental Effects of Transport

The environmental effects of transport are significant because transport is a major user of energy, and burns most of the world’s petroleum. This creates of air pollution, including nitrous oxides and particulates, and is a significant contributor to global warming through the emission of carbon dioxide.

                                            Transport Air Pollution

Admittedly, the air transport is extremely polluting but so are cars. Air traffic represents less than 2-3% of the global CO2 emissions whereas road traffic accounts for around 10% of these direct emissions. Still, plane remains among the most polluting means of transport, together with cars.

The movements of pollutants in the atmosphere is caused by transport, dispersion, and deposition. Transport are movement caused by a time averaged wind flows. Dispersion results from the local turbulence, that is, motions that last less than the time used to average the transport.

Transport Air Pollution

Transport also leads to releases of pollutants, which can be spread beyond the reach of transport networks. They can be contributing to background concentrations of particulate matter, ozone and nitrogen dioxide, affecting people, plants and animals.

The transportation sector generates the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation primarily comes from burning fossil fuel for our cars, trucks, ships, trains, and planes.

Passenger vehicles are the major pollution contributor, producing significant amounts of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and other pollution. In 2013, transportation contributed more than half of the carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, and almost a quarter of the hydrocarbons emitted into our air.

Rail transportation emits about 0.2 pounds of greenhouse gases per passenger mile (55 g/km) when each car is filled with 50 passengers

Reduce Pollution from Vehicles and Engines

1. Drive less.
2. Drive wise.
3. Choose fuel efficient vehicles.
4. Don’t idle.
5. Optimize home deliveries.
6. Use efficient lawn and gardening equipment.

Effects of Transport Air Pollution

Vehicle emissions contribute to the formation of ground level ozone (smog), which can be trigger health problems such as an aggravated asthma, reduced lung capacity, and increased susceptibility to respiratory illnesses, including pneumonia and bronchitis.

Total emissions are generally a function of the emission factors of each transport mode than their level of activity, which has implied a variety of impacts on the environment. These impacts fall within three categories,

• Direct impacts:

  The immediate consequences of transport activities on the environment where the cause and effect relationship are generally clear and well understood. For instance, noise and carbon monoxide emissions are known to have a direct harmful effects.

• Indirect impacts:

  The secondary effects of transport activities on environmental systems. They are often to the higher consequence than direct impacts, but the involved relationships are often misunderstood and more challenging to establish. For instance, particulates, which are mostly the outcome of incomplete combustion in an internal combustion engine, are indirectly linked with a respiratory and cardiovascular problems since they contribute, among other factors, to such a conditions.

• Cumulative impacts:

  The additive, multiplicative or synergetic consequences of transport activities. They consider as the varied effects of direct and indirect impacts on an ecosystem, which are often unpredictable. Climate changes, with complex causes and consequences, is the cumulative impact of several natural and anthropogenic factors, in which transportation plays a role. The shares of transportation in global, CO2 emissions is increasing. 22% of global CO2 emissions are attributed to the transport sectors, with this share is around 25% for advanced economies such as the United States.

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Global warming

Global warming is occurring when carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants collect in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight or solar radiation that have bounced off the earth’s surface. Normally this radiation would escape into the space, but these pollutants, which can be last for years to the centuries in the atmosphere, trap the heat and cause the planet to get hotter. These heat-trapping pollutants specifically carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor, and synthetic fluorinated gases are known as greenhouse gases, and their impact is called the Greenhouse Effects. Global Warming is the rise in average temperatures of across the globe, which has been ongoing at least since record keeping began in 1880.

Although people tend to use these terms interchangeably, global warming is just one aspect of climate changes. “Global warming” refers to the rise in global temperatures due to mainly, the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

One of the most dramatic effects of the global warming is the reduction in Arctic sea ice. Sea ice hit records-low extents in both the fall and winter of 2015 and 2016, meaning that at the time when the ice is supposed to be at its peak, it was lagging. The melt means there is less thick sea ice that persists for multiple years. That means the less heat is reflected back into the atmosphere, by the shiny surface of the ice and more is absorbed by the comparatively darker ocean, creating a feedback loop that causes even more melt, according to NASA’s Ice Bridges.

Impacts of Global Warming

Each year scientists learn more about the Consequence of Global Warming, and each year we also gain new evidence of its devastating impact on people and the planet. As the heat waves, droughts, and floods associated with climate change become more frequent and more intense, communities suffer and death tolls rise. Normally the radiations would escape into space, but these pollutants, which can last for years to the centuries in the atmosphere, trap the heat and cause the planet to get hotter.

Other Effects of Global Warming

•               Disappearing Glacier, early snowmelt, and severe droughts will cause more dramatic water shortages and continue to increase the risk of wildfires in the American West.
•               Rising Sea Level will lead to even more coastal flooding on the Eastern Seaboard, especially in Florida, and in other areas such as the Gulf of Mexico.
•                Forests, farms, and cities will face troublesome new posts, heat waves, heavy downpours, and increased flooding. All of these can damage or destroy agriculture and fisheries.
•                Disruption of habitats such as coral reefs and alpine meadows could drive many plant and animal species to extinction.
•                Allergies, asthma, and infectious disease outbreaks will become more common due to increase the growth of pollen-producing ragweed, higher levels of air pollution, and the spread of conditions favorable to pathogens and mosquitoes.

Causes of Global Warming

•  Oil and Gas – Oil and Gas is used all the time in almost every industry.
• Deforestation. Deforestation is the clearance of woodland and forest-this is either done for the wood.
• Power Plants
• Oil Drilling
• Transport and Vehicles
• Consumerism

Prevention

• Limiting the amounts of energy in your home by using energy efficient light bulbs and appliances, and knowing how to use the appliances properly.

• Use an air conditioner and heater only when necessary, and make sure your house is properly insulated.

• Use a hot water sparingly and use cold water when washing clothes and dishes.

• Reduce the driving and use other means of transportation like walking, biking or carpooling.

• Recycle and use reusable bags for purchases and use the refillable water bottles.

Acid Rain: Acid rain is a results of air pollution. When any type of fuel is burnt, lots of different chemicals are produced. The smoke that comes from a fire or the fumes that come out of a car exhaust don’t just contain the sooty grey particles that you can be see – they also contain lots of invisible gases that can be even more harmful to our environmental.

Acid rain, or acid deposition, is a broad term that includes any form of precipitations with acidic components, such as sulfuric or nitric acid that fall to the ground from the atmosphere in wet or dry forms.  This can be including rain, snow, fog, hail or even dust that is acidic.

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Acid rain is caused by the emissions of Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which react with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids. Some governments have made   efforts since the 1970s to reduce the release of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide into the atmosphere. These efforts had positive results due to the widespread research on acid rain starting in the 1960s and the publicized information on its harmful effects.

Acidity and alkalinity are measured using the pH scale. 7.0 is neutral. The lower a substance’s pH (less than 7), the more acidic. It is the higher a substance’s pH (greater than 7), the more alkaline it is. Normal rain has a pH of about 5.6.  It is slightly acidic because carbon dioxide (CO2) dissolves into it forming weak carbonic acid.  Acid rain usually has a pH between 4.2 and 4.4.

The Effects of Acid Rain

Acid rain can be carried great distances in the atmosphere, not just between countries but also from the continent to continent. The acid can be take the form of snow, mists and dry dusts. The rain sometimes falls many miles from the source of pollution but wherever it falls it can be having a serious effect on soil, trees, buildings and water.

Forests and all over the world are dying, fishes are dying. In Scandinavia there are dead lakes, which are the crystal clear and contain no living creatures or plant life.

Acid Rain proposes a very harmful effect on the ecosystems as well. The acidity in the water can cause many fish and sea life to die, and that can be throw off the whole food-chain. A test was done by the results, which were published in 1990, showed that most of the lakes in Adirondack area had low pH levels and that the lakes with these low levels had no fish.

Human health effects

Acid rain does not directly affect human health. The acid in the rainwater is too dilute to have the direct adverse effects. The particulates responsible for the acid rain (sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides) do have an adverse effect. Increased the amounts of fine particulate matter in the air contribute to heart and lung problems, including asthma and bronchitis.

FOREST

• dissolve and wash away the nutrients and minerals in the soil
• cause the release of harmful substances such as aluminum into the soil.
• wear away the waxy protective coating of leaves, damaging them preventing them from being able to photosynthesis properly.

Reduce emissions

• Burning of fossil fuels is still one of the cheapest ways to produce an electricity so people are now researching new ways to burn fuel which don’t produced so much pollution.
• Governments have need to spend a more money on pollution control even if it does mean an increase in the price of electricity.
• Sulphur can be also ‘washed’ out of smoke by spraying a mixture of water and powdered limestone into the smokestack.
• Cars are now fitted with catalytic converters which remove three dangerous chemicals from the exhaust gases.