b.

) Nitrogen oxides

Nitrogen oxides, or NOx, is the generic term for a group of highly reactive gases, all of which
contain nitrogen and oxygen in varying amounts. Many of the nitrogen oxides are colorless and odorless.
However, one common pollutant, nitrogen dioxide (NO2 ) along with particles in the air can often be seen
as a reddish-brown layer over many urban areas. Nitrogen oxides form when fuel is burned at high
temperatures, as in a combustion process. The primary sources of NOx are motor vehicles, electric
utilities, and other industrial, commercial, and residential sources that burn fuels. Natural sources of other
nitrogen oxides include volcanoes, thunderstorm and bacteria. Nitrogen dioxide is necessary in the
biogeochemical cycle of the Earth and ecosystems but high level of this will have a negative effect in the
community. According to the International Environmental Standard, nitrogen dioxide must limit to 200
g/m3 as a 1-hour average and up to 100 g/m3 as a 24-hour average (Sholtz, 2016). High level of
nitrogen oxide causes a wide variety of health and environmental impacts because of various compounds
and derivatives in the family of nitrogen oxides, including nitrogen dioxide, nitric acid, nitrous oxide,
nitrates, and nitric oxide. One example of its negative effect is ground level ozone, which can trigger
serious respiratory problems. Nitrogen oxides reacts to form nitrate particles, acid aerosols, as well as
NO2, which also cause respiratory problems, contributes to formation of acid rain, contributes to nutrient
overload that deteriorates water quality, contributes to atmospheric particles, that cause visibility
impairment most noticeable in national parks, reacts to form toxic chemicals, and contributes to global
warming.

c.) Unburned hydrocarbons

Along with nitrogen oxides, unburned hydrocarbons helps in worsening the environmental
problems. Hydrocarbon emissions are fragments of fuel molecules, only partially burned. The unburnt
hydrocarbons in car exhaust contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone, which brings about health
issues like lung and heart problems. Ground-level ozone is in turn a main component in smog, which is a
serious air pollution cause in cities. Some types of hydrocarbon are toxic in themselves and can cause
cancer or other health problems directly. Ground level or "bad" ozone is not emitted directly into the air,
but is created by chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds
(VOC) in the presence of sunlight. Emissions from industrial facilities and electric utilities, motor vehicle
exhaust, gasoline vapors, and chemical solvents are some of the major sources of NOx and VOC.
Breathing ozone can trigger a variety of health problems, particularly for children, the elderly, and people
of all ages who have lung diseases such as asthma. Ground level ozone can also have harmful effects on
sensitive vegetation and ecosystems.

2. Gases that contribute to enhanced greenhouse effect

Greenhouse gases are gases in the atmosphere that allow sunlight to pass through and reach the
Earth's surface. Some of this sunlight is captured as heat on Earth, and some of it is radiated back towards
space. When greenhouse gases are present in the right amounts, they trap just enough heat to keep the
Earth warm enough for organisms to survive, while letting some of that heat back into space. Without
greenhouse gases the temperature on Earth would be well below freezing (Friedl, 2012). This trapping of
heat under the atmosphere is called the greenhouse effect, and it is both natural and beneficial to life on
Earth. However, the rapid increase in greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere has led to
the enhanced greenhouse effect, which is when too much heat is trapped on Earth, resulting in an overall
increase in global temperatures.

The enhanced greenhouse effect is being caused by human activities that are adding greenhouse
gases to the Earth's atmosphere. Today, the enhanced greenhouse effect continues to grow by the addition
of man-made greenhouse gas emissions to the Earth's atmosphere. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, the
components of the greenhouse effect were in balance, particularly the gases that circulated in the
atmosphere. Once it got underway, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and
fluorinated gas levels have been increasing because of human activities (What's Your Impact, 2015).

Carbon dioxide (CO2) accounts for around three-quarters of the warming impact of current
human greenhouse-gas emissions. The key source of CO2 is the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil
and gas, though deforestation is also a very significant contributor (The Guardian, 2011).

Methane (CH4) accounts for around 14% of the impact of current human greenhouse-gas
emissions. Key sources include agriculture (especially livestock and rice fields), fossil fuel extraction and
the decay of organic waste in landfill sites. Methane doesn't persist in the atmosphere as long as CO2,
though its warming effect is much more potent for each gram of gas released (The Guardian, 2011).

Nitrous oxide (N2O) accounts for around 8% of the warming impact of current human
greenhouse-gas emissions. Key sources include agriculture (especially nitrogen-fertilised soils and
livestock waste) and industrial processes. Nitrous oxide is even more potent per gram than methane (The
Guardian, 2011).
 Fluorinated gases ("F gases") account for around 1% of the warming impact of current human
greenhouse-gas emissions. These includes hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulfur
hexafluoride (SF6) and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) (European Commission, 2015) Key sources are
industrial processes. F-gases are even more potent per gram than nitrous oxide (The Guardian, 2011).

REFERENCES
European Commission. (2015, January 1). Retrieved from Climate Action:
https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/f-gas_en

Friedl, S. (2012). Retrieved from Study.com: http://study.com/academy/lesson/greenhouse-gases-and-the-

enhanced-greenhouse-effect.html

The Guardian. (2011, February 21). Retrieved from Environment:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/feb/04/man-made-greenhouse-gases

What's Your Impact. (2015, August 5). Retrieved from What's your impact?:
https://whatsyourimpact.org/enhanced-greenhouse-effect