| 5. Air pollution |
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By air pollution we understand
the release into the atmosphere of undesirable or unhealthy
substances which in small amounts are not a cause for
concern but in large quantities are harmful. There are
natural causes of pollution, such as volcanoes, earthquakes
and other natural disasters, but the worst pollution is
caused by human activity: the emissions from combustion
at factories, refineries and industry in general, as well
as from the combustion of petrol and diesel fuel in motor
vehicles. In addition to directly harming human beings
– three out of five people living in urban areas
have lung problems – this affects other living organisms
and inanimate matter, causing acid rain, exacerbating
the greenhouse effect and destroying the ozone layer.
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| Relating parts with the whole.
This is a fundamental skill in all aspects of human
life, because, although thoughts and actions are
often isolated, they exist in broader contexts.
For example, a specific action, such as tossing
paper on the ground, might lead me to ask myself
about the sort of environment in which I want to
live, work, etc. Coherence among the parts that
make up a whole is necessary in any type of research,
whether scientific, ethical, social or aesthetic. |
| If a part changes, does that have an impact on the
whole? |
| 1. |
If we replace the motor on an old car, will it
still be the same car? |
| 2. |
If we replace all the faulty parts on an old
car, will it still be the same car? |
| 3. |
If we cut down a tree in a forest, will it still
be the same forest? |
| 4. |
If we cut down half the trees in a forest, will
it still be the same forest? |
| 5. |
If all the squirrels disappear from a forest,
will it still be the same forest? |
| 6. |
If the temperature of the sea
rises, will it still be the same sea? |
7.
|
If the living organisms that
inhabit the cold parts of that sea disappear, will that affect
the sea as a whole? |
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| Think about consequences of
pollution: common ones, such as asthma, allergies, damage to buildings,
etc. and think about thing we could do to reduce that pollution. |
|
| Exercise. Air
and water pollution, in Wondering at the World, 7.4.6 |
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| © Grup IREF 2003, with the support of the European Commission, DG XXII (Socrates/Comenius 3.2) |
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