Find out how dirty the air is in your neighborhood.
- 3 sheets of white paper or cardboard
- Petroleum jelly
Smear two sheets of paper on one side with petroleum jelly. Put the sheets next to each other, smeared-sides up, on a window sill, and clamp the sheets in place with the closed window. Or tape them to the outside of the window. Do this when it is not raining or snowing.
Take in one of the sheets at the end of one day and see how dirty it looks (compared to a clean sheet of paper).
Save the dirty sheet. Take the other sheet in after a week. See how dirty it is (compare it to the first dirty sheet and clean sheet).
The way this works is the petroleum jelly will become sticky and pollutants floating through the air will stick to it. Visible pollutants will show up on the white paper. Looking at your paper, how dirty do you think the air is?
OTHER ACTIVITIES
Cut down on your car trips; even with pollution controls, cars still emit some pollutants. When possible, walk, bike, or take a bus instead of driving. Help organize carpools for group trips.
Take pictures of some buildings or statues in your community. At your local library or newspaper office, look up old pictures of the same buildings and statues. See if they have changed over the years. Find out if the change is due to air pollution.
Draw a map of your community showing sources of air pollution.
