The Atmosphere and Human Activity: Introduction
Human Impacts on the Atmosphere
What are some ways you depend on Earth’s atmosphere? You have learned that the atmosphere provides you with oxygen, which is essential for your body’s well-being. It protects Earth from harmful solar radiation, and it helps keep Earth at just the right temperature—not too hot and not too cold.
What are some ways you impact Earth’s atmosphere? Do you think that your day-to-day activities can affect the quality of the atmosphere and affect its life-sustaining functions? Human activities do have a significant impact on the atmosphere. Factory and vehicle emissions pour gases into the atmosphere that disrupt its natural functioning and impair its quality. In this section you will learn about how human activity affects Earth’s atmosphere. You will have the chance to research some of the long-term effects of air quality and learn about some things that people can do to reverse damage done to our atmosphere.
