Urban environmental issues

Question 1

What is atmospheric pollution?

Answer 1

Small particles of harmful pollutants that are released into the atmosphere from emissions

Question 2

More particulates are found in ______ areas than ______ areas.

Answer 2

Urban, rural

Question 3

What are the four main sources of particulate:

Answer 3

• Vehicle exhausts
• Burning
• Construction and mining
• Plants and moulds.

Question 4

How does photochemical smog form?

Answer 4

• Pollutants (e.g. hydrocarbons) come from burning fossil fuels.
• When in contact with sunlight, the UV light causes them to break down into harmful chemicals, producing photochemical smog.

Question 5

Give 4 ways how urban atmospheric pollution can be managed:

Answer 5

• Congestion charging
• Public transport improvements
• Legislation
• Alternative fuels

Question 6

How does congestion charging help to manage atmospheric pollution?

Answer 6

• Vehicles are restricted from entering certain places at certain times
• Reduces road traffic
• However, some people travel around the edge of zones to avoid being charged, increasing road traffic in this area.
• Large volume of traffic means it is difficult to process all the fines.

Question 7

How does public transport improvements help to manage atmospheric pollution?

Answer 7

• Encourages people to use public transport instead of their cars.
• However, improvemets are often expensive.
• They can cause other problems e.g. park and ride schemes can shift traffic to rural areas.

Question 8

How does legislation help to manage atmospheric pollution?

Answer 8

• Limits emissions and setting air quality standards.
• e.g. Road vehicle regulations reduce exhaust emissions by ensuring cars can pass an emissions test on their MOT

Question 9

How do alternative fuels help to manage atmospheric pollution?

Answer 9

• Petrol and diesel are replaced with cleaner fuels that pollute less.
• e.g. biofuels, liquefied petroleum gas, electric vehicles.