Photographer : Araceli Arroyo |
Air PollutionAir. Without it we would all be dead. Currently there is a serious threat to our air quality—air pollution. Several recent studies have shown that air quality is the number one environmental concern of Australians.
What is air pollution?Air pollution is most clearly defined as the presence of undesirable substances in the air that interfere with human health or welfare, or produce other harmful environmental effects. With industrialisation, the levels of pollutants that are pumped into the atmosphere everyday have skyrocketed.
Does Australia have a problem with air pollution?Australia, like other industrialised nations around the world, struggles with air pollution. The problem of factory emissions is compounded by the number of cars on the roads in the major cities that emit dangerous levels of gas into the atmosphere everyday.
Are there standards for air pollution levels in Australia?There are no universal emissions standards in Australia, so the level of emissions allowed can differ from state to state. The Federal government has developed a system—called the Australia Air Quality Forecasting system—to predict air quality for the next day. Under this computer model, people know there is a risk of bad air quality before they go outside.
What is being done to improve air quality?The Federal and State governments have been working in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol—even though the Federal Government never ratified it—to reduce the amount of pollutants released into the air. Public transport is using more efficient fuel and Australian governments are encouraging the use of public transport as a way to reduce the number of cars on the road.
How do I know this?Australian Department of Environment and Hertiage, Air pollutants,
http://www.deh.gov.au/atmosphere/airquality/pollut...Australian Department of Environment and Heritage, Air quality fact sheet—national standards for criteria air pollutants in Australia,
http://www.deh.gov.au/atmosphere/airquality/public...CSIRO Atmospheric Research,
http://www.dar.csiro.au/information/airpollution.htmlNational Asthma Council Australia, Asthma and Air Pollution,
http://www.nationalasthma.org.au/HTML/management/i...NSW Department of Environment and Conservation, Principal air pollutants,
http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/envirom/princairpol.htmPollution.com,
http://www.pollution.com/
