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Teaching » Air Quality (ESCI 3220)

Air Quality (ESCI 3220)

Image of Charlotte, North Carolina in November 2016 after smoke was transported from fires on the eastern NC Appalachian mountains. The Air Quality Index was red for a day, which is rare for Charlotte. The photo is from the WBTV news station tower cam.

Image of Charlotte, North Carolina in November 2016 after smoke was transported from fires on the eastern NC Appalachian mountains. The Air Quality Index was red for a day, which is rare for Charlotte. The photo is from the WBTV news station tower cam.

Course Catalog Description: A survey of how human activities combine with weather and geography to create air pollution problems, how air pollution is monitored and reported, and the national and international policies aimed at improving air quality.

Prerequisite: ESCI 2222 Environmental Science or ESCI 3101 Global Environmental Change

Description: The primary topics in Air Quality include the history and present state of the United States Clean Air Act, major air pollutants including Criteria Air Pollutants (CAPs) and Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs or Air Toxics), health and environmental effects of major air pollutants, the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), and air quality issues at global and regional scales, but also specific to North Carolina and other states in our country.

Objectives
1. Understand how and why the concentrations of major air pollutants vary
2. Summarize successes and failures in the management of air pollution
3. Learn about tools and resources to gather data relevant to studying air quality
4. Understand the interconnectivity of social and physical dimensions related to air pollution exposure disparities

Air Quality ESCI 3220 is an elective for the Meteorology BS and Earth and Environmental Sciences BS.

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