POLLUTION
POLLUTION
Human activities harm the Earth because they introduce harmful
substances called pollutants. Pollutants can make water unsafe to
drink or use and can sometimes kill animals.
Pollutants can be: Smoke, gases and plastics.
How do we cause pollution?
Cars, trucks and buses contribute to air
pollution as they put poisonous fumes into
the air. People suffer from breathing
problems and this is one of the things that
make them sick.
Water pollution is generally caused by
factories that put chemicals into the rivers.
So the water needs to be filtered to make it
safe to drink. Desalination plants are used
to take the salt out of the water.
When we throw solid or liquid waste
materials on land or underground we
contaminate the soil, and put in danger
public health.
HOW LONG DOES
POLLUTION LAST?
Fruits and vegetable
peelings rot in a few weeks.
Paper takes one year to
disappear, and metals take
many more years.
But it takes 10 to 20 years for
a plastic bag to degrade in
the ocean.
MEASURES WE CAN TAKE TO
REDUCE POLLUTION
1) RECYCLING:
It is important to recycle the things
we don`t need anymore.
Recycling reduces the need to
extract resources such as timber,
water, and minerals for new
products.
That’s why separating the
garbage is so important. The metal
from aluminum cans, for example,
can be saved and used again
and we save energy and take
care of the planet at the same
time.
TRAVELLING ON FOOT OR BY
MAKING COMPOST BIKE
Compost is decomposed organic When a vehicle starts its engine, it
releases a lot of carbon monoxide into
material that is added to soil to the atmosphere. We can do lots of things
provide nutrients to help plant to reduce pollution from vehicles:
growth. • Drive less: fewer miles driven means fewer
emissions.
Compost is made by using
unwanted food. • Use the bike-share programs if your city or
town has them.
• Take public transport when possible.
• Carpool with friends instead of driving
alone.
• And the best option is to walk or bike
whenever you can.
• These measures lead to less pollution.
WHAT IS RENEWABLE ENERGY?
Renewable energy is energy derived from natural sources and they
are called ´renewable´ because they will never run out.
Sunlight and wind, for example, are sources that are constantly
being replenished.
Fossil fuels - coal, oil and gas - on the other hand, are non-
renewable resources that take hundreds of millions of years to form.
Dams are made to trap water from rivers
and seas and when the water is released
it is used to turn turbines.
SOLAR PANELS WIND FARMS
They catch the energy from the A wind farm is a group of wind
sun and turn it into electricity. They turbines in the same location used
are very common in gated to produce electricity.
communities as they allow people
When the wind blows, it turns the
to have electricity even when
blades.
there is a power cut.
Wind farms can be either onshore
or offshore.
GASES
Humans burn fuels in power Those activities create gases
stations and vehicle engines that go into the atmosphere
EXPLORING CLEAN ENERGY
Clean energy is energy that Clean energy can help to reduce
comes from renewable sources global warming because
that don´t pollute the atmosphere renewable energy sources don’t
when used. emit greenhouse gases such as
carbon dioxide.
Green energy is energy derived
from natural sources.
There is a difference between
these two energy types. An easy
way to remember the differences
is:
Clean energy = clean air
Green energy = natural sources
COAL POWER STATIONS
Drax Power Station was the largest coal-fired power station in Western
Europe
Goods trains used to arrive at Drax to deliver coal
which was burnt in boilers to make steams for the
turbines. The problem was that the coal produced
large amounts of smoke, ash and heat which lead
to damage to the environment.
To solve this issue the station has been converted
to burn wood pellets. In April 2023 the coal units
ceased operation.
Drax Power Station is important because more
than 700 people are employed at the plant
throughout the year.
The use of wood pellets reduces the carbon
emissions by 80% compared to coal.
It depends on us to have a healthy
planet
