Readings and Articles
For this module, please:
-
Read the Textbook. Chapter 18 from the 4th Edition was merged into Chapter 19 in the 5th Edition. Follow the readings for your edition.
5th Edition
- Read Section 19.1 – 19.3 (pp 664 – 680) which will cover Air Pollution.
- Read Chapter 14: Water Pollution, skip section 14.6 (since we covered this in the last module).
- Read Section 17.9: Sediment Pollution (pp 603 – 604).
- Review Chapter 1 to remind yourself of the five major course themes.
4th Edition
- Read Chapter 18: Air Pollution
- Read Chapter 13: Water Pollution, skip section 13.6 (since we covered this in the last module).
- Read Section 16.9: Sediment Pollution (pp 540 - 541).
- Review Chapter 1 to remind yourself of the five major course themes.
- View live air quality information for particulate matter (soot) and ozone for several cities around the U.S. Click on the AQI Animation tab to see where these air pollutants tend to build around the U.S.
- Also, review the case-studies in the Soils Lecture, the case studies in the Energy Lecture (specifically, the sections on nuclear waste disposal), and the Resources Lecture (specifically, the section about the environmental costs of mining).
This module focuses on the textbook; please use the study guide linked to in the lecture for more information on what to read.
Additional resources you may check out:
- Visit the Environmental Defense Fund's Environmental Scorecard, a website that publishes EPA information on pollution, but includes additional information on the meaning behind the numbers. Basically, the EPA website is lousy and designed to make it hard for you to find government facts on pollution. Scorecard republishes the information so it is easy to use. Just type in your zipcode to see who pollutes near you.
- Check out the US EPA’s Environmental Justice website and then click on the Environmental Justice Assessment Tool. This will show you a map of where different hazardous waste sites are in your community. Enter in your zip code (or a zip code of interest) and draw the map. Then use the Map Features on the upper right. Click on the + to open up the options. Check the boxes of interest to you, for example, "superfund site" - a site that was contaminated and is eligible for Federal dollars to support the clean-up and then click on "redraw map." This will then show you where in your area these sites exist. The tool is a bit clunky and slow but informative nonetheless.
- Check out the live Midwest Haze Camera (this used to be in Indianapolis, but we apparently don't have enough haze). This camera that looks towards downtown of major cities helps to assess the reduction in visibility caused by air pollution. Other Midwest cities are also available.