Chapter 3
●
45
Keeping Pennsylvania’s
Environment Healthy
L E S S O N 9
Key Questions
1. Why is it important to be
concerned about our
environment?
2. What are themain
environmental issues of
Pennsylvania?
3. Why is recycling so
important?
KeyWords
polluted
acid rain
wastewater
sewage
treatment plants
landfills
toxicwastes
recycle
stripmining
reclaim
nuclear energy
preservation
The Importance of
Our Environment
I
n our last state Constitution, the
government promised the people the
right to have clean air, pure water, and
a healthy environment. You learned that
our environment is the air, the water, and
the land that surround you andother living
things.What would happen to us if the air,
water, and land became so
polluted
that it
was unsafe for us to live here? To pollute
means to put unsafe materials for humans
and animals into the air, water, and land.
Clean air, water, and land is so important
to us. On our planet, air and water are used
by all living things. We use air to breathe.
Plants use air and water to make food and
giveoff oxygen. Fishneed cleanwater to live.
Keeping Our
Air Clean
F
or many years, most people did not
take care of our environment. Indus-
trial plants burned fossil fuels to
produce energy tomake products. Cars and
buses burned fossil fuels. The problemwith
burning these fuels is that harmful
