Question

Coal fired power plants are used to create the electricity that we depend on. However, they also release a lot of pollution into the atmosphere through their giant smokestacks.
Clint claims that although this might be bad for the air very near the power plant, the air in the next town over is completely fine.

What is wrong with Clint's belief?

Answer 1

He did not take in to account for wind currents and the fact that CO2 or the carbon stays in the air

Answer 2

Clint's claim is wrong from multiple aspects, with the two most important being:

- Movement of air masses;

In order for the pollution to stay only just above the place where the power plant is, there should be no atmosphere and no air movement, and the Earth is not a planet of that type. The movement of the air masses will disperse the polluters on a much wider area, including the nearby town.

- Global impact;

Though some of the pollution will be dispersed in the lower part of the atmosphere, big portion of it will go up into the higher parts of the atmosphere. By doing that, those polluters, mostly the CO2, will be increasing the Greenhouse effect, which basically means the rise of the global temperatures because of bigger retaining of the heat in the Earth's atmosphere. That will affect the whole planet, including the place where the power plant is, and the nearby town.