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Water And Air Pollution

Abstract

Air and Water quality affects our health in many ways. For some of us, poor quality air is merely an irritant; for others, it contributes to a wide array of respiratory difficulties, including asthma. Some of the chemicals in the air can also lead to a higher incidence of lung cancer for others. Depending upon weather conditions, large parts of this Southern Alabama region can be subjected to poor quality air. Air and Water quality knows no city or state. For several years now the issue of water and air pollution in Joliet, Illinois has been at the forefront of resident's minds. In particular is radium in the water table, acid rain, and dust from quarries and air pollution from the landfills. Are the levels high enough to harm? Is it just an instance of public panic? On and on go the questions we ask ourselves. Looking at topography and its relation to this area, I have researched the following information. (Slowik, 2001)
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Water and Air Pollution Comparison (Mobile, Al & Jolliet, Illinois)
A tree can settle out, trap, and hold pollutants on its leaves and bark. Trees are unsurpassed by any other plants in terms of the amount of surface area they can use for pollutant control - whether in the form of bark, leaves or needles. Other plants housed by a tree, such as lichens and mosses, are also able to absorb pollutants. If absorbed these pollutants are not washed to the ground. If the pollutants do enter the soil, they can be filtered before entering the waterways. Some trees (e.g., the plane tree, a cousin of the sycamore), are better able to survive in urban locales. Any pollutants the plain trees collect in its leaves or on its bark are shed as part of the tree's life cycle. Forests and trees filter rainwater and runoff (chemicals, sediment, and other pollutants) in many ways helping to ensure a cleaner water supply.
Within the wide industrial area we are polluting the air and water through emissions from oil refineries, steel mills, quarries...