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AIR POLLUTION
The expression "smog" was first used in "Turn-of-the-Century" London to describe a combination of "smoke" and "fog". Smog occurred when water vapor in the air condensed on small particles of soot in the air, forming small smog droplets. Thousands of Londoners died of pneumonia-like diseases due to the poisonous air.
Today, smog is usually produced photochemically, when chemical pollutants in the air (notably nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (VOC's) from automobile exhausts) are baked by the sun and react chemically. Ground-level ozone is produced by a combination of pollutants from many sources such as automobile exhausts, smokestacks, and fumes (VOC's) from chemical solvents like paint thinner or pesticides. When these smog-forming pollutants (called "precursors") are released into the air, they undergo chemical transformations and produce smog. Weather conditions, such as the lack of wind or a "thermal inversion", also cause smog to be trapped over a particular area.
Smog causes health problems such as difficulty in breathing, asthma, reduced resistance to lung infections, colds, and eye irritation. The ozone in smog also can damage plants and trees, and the haze reduces visibility. This is particularly noticeable from mountains and other beautiful vistas such as National Parks.
Severe smog and ground-level ozone problems exist in many major cities, including much of California from San Francisco to San Diego, the mid-Atlantic seaboard from Washington, DC to southern Maine, and over most major cities of the South and Midwest.
1) Cut a strip of paper about 6 inches by 2 inches.
2) Fold the strip in half and twist it into a rope.
3) Make a snug lid for the jar out of a piece of aluminum foil. Shape a small depression in the foil lid to keep the ice cubes from sliding off.
4) Carefully remove the foil and set it aside.
5) Put some water in the jar and swish it around to wet all the inside of the jar. Pour out the extra water.
6) Light the paper "rope" with a match and drop it and the match into the damp jar. Put the foil lid back on the jar and seal it tightly. Put ice cubes on the lid to make it cold.