Waikato
Clear the Air This is your workbook on air pollution. As you work through it, tick off the activities you have completed on the list below. Have fun! Activity 1 Activity 2 Activity 3 Activity 4 Activity 5 Activity 6 Activity 7 Activity 8 Activity 9 Activity 10 Activity 11 Activity 12 Activity 13 Five reasons why air is important What s in the air? Mix & match Different sources of air pollution Make a pie chart Air Pollution - it s a wintertime thing The shape of the land Exploring our winter weather How small are the particles in smoke? How PM 10 pollution affects us Your air diary Homework investigation How much does your household contribute to winter air pollution? Clear the Air! What you can do to help? 2
Activity 13: How much does your household contribute to winter air pollution? Look back at your answers in Activity 12, and shade in the squares (one per column) that apply to your house. Main method of heating How often fire is used (in winter) Fuel used Insulation (ceiling, floors, windows) Heat pump, electric or gas heaters Never have a fire Gas/electricity only House totally insulated NOT Score 4 Score 4 Score 4 Score 4 AT ALL Modern woodburner or pellet fire Occasionally have a fire (e.g. when it is windy) Dry unpainted wood only House mostly insulated SOME Score 3 Score 3 Score 3 Score 3 Woodburner 5-15 years old Score 2 Have a fire about half the nights in winter Score 2 Wood is usually dry and not painted Score 2 House has some insulation Score 2 QUITE A BIT Open fireplace Have a fire most winter nights Sometimes use coal, wet wood, painted wood or drift wood House has little or no insulation A LOT Score 1 Score 1 Score 1 Score 1 Add up the scores, and rate your household along this scale. 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 Not at all Some Quite a bit A lot My household contributes to winter air pollution: 15
HOME WORK ACTIVITIES HOME WORK ACTIVITIES Clean Air: What can we do? Activity 12: Homework investigation a) What is the main source of heating in your home? (e.g. woodburner, open fire, gas fire, gas heater, electric heaters, heat pump) b) What second form of heating do you have? (e.g. electric heaters in bedrooms) c) Does your house have insulation in the ceiling? (look in the attic ask your parents first!) d) Does your house have other insulation? (e.g. under the floor or in walls) e) Does every window in your house have curtains? Are they thick enough to keep the cold out? EXTRA: You will need to ask your parents to help you do these. f) Compare a February and a July electricity bill for your house. Summer bill: $ Winter bill: $ Some of the difference will be from hot water and lighting, but most will be from home heating. g) Estimate how much your household spends on other heating costs, apart from electricity, each winter. Gas: $ Firewood: $ Remember, energy efficiency is all about saving energy, and saving money. It means staying warmer, for less cost! Other ( ): $ 14
Destination Lake Taupo Why is AIR important? Activity 1: Five reasons why air is important Write the reasons into each panel by filling in the gaps. Underneath each reason, write an extra fact, e.g. under Air keeps us alive you could write that we breathe air to stay alive, or that our bodies need oxygen from the air. Air is _ Air keeps us _ Air keeps and _ alive Air affects our Destination Lake Taupo / Marcel Tromp Air affects our Key words: alive atmosphere breathe carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) animals earth feelings health lungs oxygen planet quality plants around fitness 3
Clean air What is air quality and why is it important? Quality = how good something is Air quality = how fresh and pure the air is Air is all around us, and we breathe it in all of the time; so anything harmful in the air can get into our lungs. Clean air is one of the most important things in the environment. You can t see it, you can t smell it, but you can t live without it! Activity 2: What s in the air? Doesn t it feel great when you breathe in really fresh, pure air perhaps in the mountains or near the sea? But sometimes we can see, smell or even taste things in the air. Not all of them are bad for us, but some are. Make a list of things that can be in the air. Decide if each one is good or harmful for us. Things we can see in the air Good or harmful Things we can smell and/or taste in the air Good or harmful Write down the word from the following page that means can t be seen : Write down the word from the following page that means can t be smelled : 4
WEDNESDAY THURSDAY Date: Date: HOME WORK ACTIVITIES HOME WORK ACTIVITIES Weather forecast (short description): Your pollution prediction Hardly any Slightly smoggy Getting nasty Chokin! Evening walk: 5-10 minutes: Your observations: Smell of pollution: how bad Didn t notice Slight stink Getting nasty Can hardly breathe! How many smoky chimneys did you see tonight? Did you do any outdoor activities (apart from the walk) e.g. sports practice NEXT DAY Weather report: Minimum temp. C. Wind Frosty? Y / N Air pollution (PM 10 ) reading from EW website: micrograms per cubic metre of air. Weather forecast (short description): Your pollution prediction Hardly any Slightly smoggy Getting nasty Chokin! Evening walk: 5-10 minutes: Your observations: Smell of pollution: how bad Didn t notice Slight stink Getting nasty Can hardly breathe! How many smoky chimneys did you see tonight? Did you do any outdoor activities (apart from the walk) e.g. sports practice NEXT DAY Weather report: Minimum temp. C. Wind Frosty? Y / N Air pollution (PM 10 ) reading from EW website: micrograms per cubic metre of air. 13
MONDAY TUESDAY Date: Date: HOME WORK ACTIVITIES HOME WORK ACTIVITIES Activity 11: Your air diary - winter Weather forecast (short description): Your pollution prediction Hardly any Slightly smoggy Getting nasty Chokin! Evening walk: 5-10 minutes: Your observations: Smell of pollution: how bad Didn t notice Slight stink Getting nasty Can hardly breathe! How many smoky chimneys did you see tonight? Did you do any outdoor activities (apart from the walk) e.g. sports practice NEXT DAY Weather report: Minimum temp. C. Wind Frosty? Y / N Air pollution (PM 10 ) reading from EW website: micrograms per cubic metre of air. Weather forecast (short description): Your pollution prediction Hardly any Slightly smoggy Getting nasty Chokin! Evening walk: 5-10 minutes: Your observations: Smell of pollution: how bad Didn t notice Slight stink Getting nasty Can hardly breathe! How many smoky chimneys did you see tonight? NEXT DAY Did you do any outdoor activities (apart from the walk) e.g. sports practice Weather report: Minimum temp. C. Wind Frosty? Y / N Air pollution (PM 10 ) reading from EW website: micrograms per cubic metre of air. 12
Polluted air What is air pollution? A pollutant is something in the air that is harmful to the environment. Can you see it? Can you smell it? Some air pollutants, such as smoke can be seen and smelled; some are poisonous gases that are invisible and odourless. Activity 3: Mix & match Below is a list of substances that can be found in air. Match the words on the left of the page to the definitions on the right. One has been done for you. Oxygen (O2) Plants breathe in this gas, and give off oxygen. Carbon Monoxide (CO) Carbon Dioxide (CO 2 ) Smoke Nitrogen (N 2 ) Important for all living things, this gas makes up 21% of the atmosphere (the air all around us). This invisible, odourless gas is the main component of air (78%). This poisonous gas comes out of vehicle exhaust pipes and chimneys, and can t be seen or smelled. Made up of tiny solid particles that float into the air when something is burnt. It can hurt our eyes, nose, throat and lungs. Three of the substances in the list are a natural part of our air, and two of them are not supposed to be there they are pollutants. Tick the boxes next to the natural ones, and put crosses next to the pollutants. 5
Where does our air pollution come from? Activity 4: Different sources of air pollution 1. There are many things that can pollute the air, and many places that pollutants can come from. Use the spaces below to write or draw as many of the sources you can think of for things that pollute the air: Sources of Air Pollution 2. Circle the months that air pollution is highest in your town: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 3. So what are the main sources of winter air pollution? Write down what you think are the three biggest sources of air pollution in your town, before reading the following page. 1. 2. 3. 6
How PM 10 affects our health PM 10 size does matter! The smaller the particles, the more damage they can do. PM 10 can kill! Up to 10 people in Tokoroa and nine people in Taupo die each year from breathing problems that may have been made worse by PM 10 pollution. PM 10 makes us sick! Every year people are admitted to hospital with pollution-related illnesses. We inhale and exhale about ten litres of air each minute! We need to keep breathing - so anything in the air including PM 10, can get into our lungs. Activity 10: How PM 10 pollution affects us 1. On the diagram above, label the eyes, nose, throat, trachea and lungs. 2. Complete the following sentence. Describe in your own words what happens when we breathe in polluted air. Use these words in your explanation: nose, throat, lungs, breathe, irritate. Small particles in the air can be breathed in through 11
What s polluting our air? Smoke is made from tiny pieces (particles) of burnt wood and coal. Let s take a closer look... Smoke is created when something is burned. Activity 9: How small are the particles in smoke? 1. Your height: cm 2. Length of your index finger: mm 3. Can you measure how wide a strand of your hair is, in millimetres? Why not? To measure something this small, we need another measurement unit: a micrometre! FACT BOX A micrometre (or micron) is a thousandth of a millimetre (that s a millionth of a metre!) Your strand of hair is about 50 microns wide (or 0.05mm). Check out the FACT BOXES! FACT BOX The most dangerous smoke particles are the ones that are small enough to get deep into our lungs. These particles are five times smaller than the width of a human hair; that is microns. The name for these particles is PM 10. FACT BOX The scientific name for tiny pieces of burnt wood and coal is Particulate matter less than 10 microns or PM 10 for short. 10
The biggest source in Taupo and Tokoroa is... home heating Were you right? The biggest source of pollutants is open fires and woodburners used for home heating they create about 90% of our winter air pollution. The next two biggest sources are outdoor burning and motor vehicles (cars, trucks etc). Outdoor burning is when people burn garden waste and household rubbish in their backyard. Activity 5: Make a pie chart From the information given, complete the pie chart. The major sources of winter air pollution in Taupo and Tokoroa are: Taupo Tokoroa Home heating 88% 90% Outdoor burning 3% 5% Vehicles 9% 5% When measuring a pie chart, 1% = 3.6. Label the three slices of the pie after you have drawn them. Activity 6: Air Pollution - it s a wintertime thing 1. What activities do people do during winter? Write one outdoor and one indoor example. Outdoor: Indoor: 2. What activities does your family do during winter? Outdoor: Indoor: 3. What activities do you like to do during winter? Outdoor: Indoor: 7
Air pollution and the shape of the land Look at the picture of your town below and label the following features: Taupo - town area, hills, lake, mountains and forests. Tokoroa - town area, hills, forests and farmland. Taupo Tokoroa Activity 7: Describe what effect the shape and location of your town land has on air pollution? 8
The winter weather trap Two types of weather are common during a Waikato winter: Southerly or westerly storms and crisp, clear frosts Activity 8: Exploring our winter weather 1. On the Venn diagram below, describe the weather conditions on a stormy winter s day, on a frosty winter s day, and things that are common to both types of day. Use these words (and some of your own): strong cold wind no wind chilly sunny frost rain cold sleet or snow on mountains Stormy winter s day Frosty winter s day 2. Which type of winter s day will trap air pollution the most? 3. Why? 9
Clear the Air! What you can do to help? If we want to reduce winter air pollution, we all need to make some changes. Write on the checklist below the top three things that your whole family could do, and some things that you personally could do. What my family can do What I can do Some examples... INSULATION Family can do Put draught-stopping tape around doors and windows. Install or upgrade ceiling insulation. Buy good thick curtains for all windows. I can do Make a door snake. Shut doors to rooms not being heated. Close all the curtains when it gets dark. HEATING METHOD Family can do Consider replacing the fireplace with a cleaner form of heating (especially if it s an open fire or old woodburner). Don t burn when it is frosty and still (no wind). I can do If my family does use the fire, learn how to make it burn more cleanly (see below). Check the weather forecast to know if it will be windy or not. CLEANER BURNING Family can do Only use properly dry firewood, should be at least a year since cut. Don t burn treated or painted timber, or driftwood. Store firewood in a dry, sheltered place. When adding wood to the fire, leave plenty of room for air to circulate. Always keep the air control open. I can do Bring wood in to dry before burning. If I am allowed to help set the fire, use small pieces of kindling, only add larger pieces once it s burning well. Resource material kindly supplied by Environment Canterbury Regional Council.