uclei have an affinity for water and play an important role in the transformation of water vapor into fog, clouds, and precipitation.
The primary air pollutants found in most urban areas are carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter (both solid and liquid), and these pollutants are dispersed throughout the world's atmosphere in concentrations high enough to gradually cause serious health problems. Serious health problems can occur quickly when air pollutants are concentrated. In urban regions, the two main sources of pollutants are transportation (predominantly automobiles) and fuel combustion in stationary sources, including residential, commercial, and industrial heating and cooling and thermoelectric power plants. Motor vehicles produce high levels of carbon monoxides (CO) and are a major source of hydrocarbons (HC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Fuel combustion in stationary sources is the dominant source of sulfur dioxide (SO2)(Socha).
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the major pollutants in the atmosphere, with its major source being the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. The concentrations of CO2 in the air around 1860 has been assumed to have been about 290 parts per million (ppm), while in the century since, the concentration has increased by about 30 to 35 ppm. Industrialized countries account for 65 percent of CO2 emissions, and the United States and the Soviet Union together are responsible for fully 50 percent. Less developed countries contain 80 percent of the world's people but are responsible for only 35 percent of CO2 emissions, though this could increase to 50 percent by the year 2020 (Socha).
At the present time, ocean waters contain about sixty times more CO2 than the atmosphere, but if the concentration of CO2 in the air is increased, then the oceans would absorb more and more of the output. Once the oceans can no longer take up the slack, more ...