Air Pollution
I. Read the articles in the following order of publish date starting with the
earliest.
1. USC Study Links Smoggy Air to lung Damage in Children, Sep 17 2004
2. USC study Examines near-roadway air pollution as contributor to asthma September 25, 2012
3. Take a deep breath - you may not like what's up in the air July 15, 2014
4. LA's Environmental Success Story: Cleaner Air, Healthier Kids Mar 4 2015
II. List three important findings/ideas presented specifically in each article you read. Explain why you choose those ideas/findings as important.
III. Answer the following questions according to your understanding of the problem:
1) Is asthma a serious air pollution related health problem facing the U.S. and the world? Why or why not?
2) What possible air pollution related factors influence asthma or lung malfunctioning according to the research? What are the sources of
these factors according to the reading?
3) What has been done to reduce those factors mentioned in "2" already?
4) Picture yourself as the environmental engineer working for the EPA, charged with the responsibility of assessing the trend between adverse health effects, environmental regulations and the current air pollution conditions. In the light of your findings from these papers (presented in section II), what would you conclude about this issue? Do you believe that the current conditions a good indicator that we are solving the problem?