Danger In The Air!
Teacher Background
Web Site Resources

State Air Quality Readings

Utah:

Utah Department of Environmental Quality/ Division of Air Quality/Air Monitoring Center/Air Pollution Report for Wasatch Front Areas:

Utah Weather Link

Texas:

Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission/ Office of Air Quality/ Monitoring Operations/Peak Ozone Levels Up to date ozone level values for selected cities in Texas. *Texas Weather Link

California:

California Air Quality Control Districts/ South Coast Counties/Current Readings at Air Monitoring Subregions Up-to-date readings by the smog control agency of Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside Counties.

Michigan:

Daily ozone readings for selected cities and towns in Michigan.

EnviroLink Library provides links to resources about air quality.

The National Weather Service Northwest Office provides local weather forecasts and further links to weather related information.

The Environmental Protection Agency Office of Air and Radiation provides information about air quality issues like ozone, acid rain and indoor air pollution.

The Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality Systems Division

• http://www.epa.gov/airs/rtvcurr.html
• http://www.epa.gov/airs/agsample.html
• http://www.epa.gov/airs/aqsdata.html

provides information, data, maps and charts of air pollution from around the country. The maps are very colorful and show where levels of different pollutants are high in all the states.

Texas Environmental Center Information on water and air quality, and lands and wildlife in Texas. Galvaston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention Graphics and information on smog

Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission/Monitoring Operations/Air Quality Lesson Plans and Data Air quality lessons and access to Texas air quality data.

Air Quality Resources A list of all the states and access to their resources and agencies related to air quality.

Air Pollution and Health Issues Resources: Number of deaths--
Natural Resource Defense Council

• http://www.nrdc.org/trbreath/state/WA.html
• http://www.nrdc.org/trbreath/msa/7600.html
• http://www.nrdc.org/faqs/aibrefaq.html

Data of deaths in Washington State.

Increase in Asthma Center for Disease Control Alarming increase in rate among women and poor.

Impact on plants U of Texas Example lesson of the damaging impact of air pollution on living organisms. Relevant data to local area and local area plants--U. Texas.

Dangers in the Air Natural Resources Defense Council: Statistics of morality in the US. Good Introductory/grabber information.

http://www.nrdc.org/faqs/aibrefaq.html Sample q/a's--good resource from NRDC.

Greenbeat Good overview/summary of issues.

Description of Pollutants Environmental Protection Agency:

Natural Resource Defense Council Fairly short summaries of particulates and pollutants

Pollutant readings for Washington State: Environmental Protection Agency Air particulates in Washington State

http://www.epa.gov/region10/www/offices/air/airdatwa.html unhealthy days in Washington State.

Ozone Depletion and Global Warming:
Green Peace:
Greenbeat:

NOAA Information on Global Warming:

Description of greenhouse gases and global warming:

Article on Volcanoes and global climate change:

Weather Sources
INTELLICAST
The University of Washington
The Weather Channel
The Weather Processor
The Weather Underground

Other Sources
U Mich. library database:
Kidweb:
K-6 databases:
WSU databases related to education:
US Global Change Research Information Office:
NASA's Mission to Planet Earth:
Space Shuttle Photographs of Earth:

Search Assistance
Ask Eric

• Teachers' Guide to the Module
• Activity #4: Finding and Analyzing Air Quality Data
• Atmospheric Constituents and Pollutants
• Air Pollution and Heath
• Temperature Inversion Simulation
• Educational Standards and Benchmarks
• What is in our air and how did it get there? (first page of this module)