Clean Air Project What is air Air is

Clean Air Project

What is air? Air is all around us. When we feel wind blowing, that is just fast moving air.

Why is air so important? We need to breathe clean air containing oxygen to stay healthy and alive!

What happens if air becomes dirty or polluted? It doesn’t smell nice and it can make you sneeze, cough, dizzy and unwell.

Is air pollution a new problem? No! In the Stone Age, some 10, 000 years ago, cavemen breathed in smoke from wood fires in their caves with walls turned black with soot. Egyptian mummies have been found to have blackened lungs from breathing in soot.

Was it better to burn coal? No! 1800 s: The huge increase in the use of coal in the industrial revolution saw the air in cities fill with thick, black smoke and buildings blackened with soot. By the end of 1800 s: lung diseases caused by air pollution was Britain’s biggest killer. In the 1950 s the Clean Air Acts were passed that banned the burning of polluting coal in cities.

Is air pollution still a problem today? Yes, we now have a new problem – road traffic! In 1886 Karl Benz invented the first car which ran on petrol made from oil and released smoke from exhaust pipes. In the 1900 s the number of cars greatly increased Today our cars are cleaner but more numerous. How many cars do you think we have on our roads today? Over 38 million!

Why is air pollution a problem for our planet? We use oil to make petrol and diesel to run the engines in our cars, lorries, planes and ships. Burning fuels like oil, gas and coal produces carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas which is melting our ice caps and changing our climate. So the more fuel we burn, the more we are hurting our planet.

Why is air pollution bad for our health? Air pollution from traffic contains • bad gases like nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide and • particles of dust made up of soot such as black carbon and heavy metals, so tiny that they cannot be seen. Breathing high levels of air pollution can irritate our lungs and damage our hearts. It is especially harmful for the young and old and for people with breathing problems.

What can we do to help reduce air pollution today? Leave our cars at home for short journeys and walk, cycle or scoot!

What can we do if we need to drive somewhere? Give someone else a lift Take the train or bus instead Park & Stride Remind drivers to switch off their engines

How can we breathe cleaner air? Cycle, walk or scoot rather than sit in a car - you’ll breathe cleaner air! The levels of air pollution that you breathe when sitting can be much higher those of people walking nearby!

How can we breathe cleaner air? Choose to walk along quieter streets away from the busy traffic and see if you can discover any natural wonders on the way to school!

Grow plants outside and keep potted plants indoors to reduce air pollution!

Could you be a clean air superhero? Clean Air Champio n