Polluted Cities Assignment In this assignment, we are going to explore the pollutants found in the air of the world’s major cities and some the affects those pollutants have on the environment. You will pick a major city (population of at least 1 million) and research its air quality. Examples of some major world cities: Atlanta Rio de Janeiro Delhi New York Tokyo Dhaka Dallas Beijing Madrid Los Angles Paris Rome Seattle London Cairo Mexico City Moscow Seoul Karachi Riyadh Berlin Manila Sydney Cape Town You will include the following information in your final report on your city:
1. Name of the city
2. Population of the city
3. Any topographical/climatic features around the city that contribute to poor air quality. Are there mountains or higher terrain that hold the air pollutants near the ground within the city?
4. Air quality index (if available for your city)
5. Levels of:
a. CO (Carbon monoxide)
b. NO2 (Nitrogen dioxide)
c. 03 (Ground level ozone)
d. SO2 (Sulfur dioxide)
e. Particulate matter
6. Pictures showing your cities air quality on “good” air quality days and “bad.”
7. Effects of the air quality on the local environment
a. What environmental problems have occurred in the local area?
i. Include respiratory disease incidence rates
ii. Discuss any issues with acid precipitation
8. What regulations are in place to help the cities air quality?
9. A picture or pictures that illustrate the air quality of the city.
Web sites that may be of use to you are below. Not every website will have information on every city.
Some focus on international cities, some focus on US cities, etc. Of course, a general google search for whatever information you are looking for for your specific city could be benefical too.
The websites below are not the only place you can find the information you need from the list above. http://air.ipe.org.cn/en/index.aspx : Info on China http://library.thinkquest.org/26026/Environment Watch/air pollution statistics.html www.environmentaldefense.org: Environmental Defense Fund http://www.airnow.gov: Air Now – air quality indexes http://www.euro.who.int/air: World Health Organization http://econ.worldbank.org: World Bank http://www.epa.gov/airtrends/index.html: EPA site on U.S air quality
This will be a summative grade so make sure to put in extra effort on it!
