What is the difference between those words?
There are two sentences

1. " Gas emissions from factories and exhaust fumes from vehicles lead to global warming, which may have a devastating effect on the planet in the future. "
2. "As the human population increases, we are also producing ever greater quantities of waste, which contaminates the earth and pollutes rivers and oceans."

I'd like to know what is the difference between "gas emissions" and "exhaust fumes". Can they be used interchangably?
Also, I don't understand why the author use "contaminate", and then "pollute", they are of the same meaning to me. Am I wrong?

Thanks for your answer.

Question

What is the difference between those words?
There are two sentences

1. " Gas emissions from factories and exhaust fumes from vehicles lead to global warming, which may have a devastating effect on the planet in the future. "
2. "As the human population increases, we are also producing ever greater quantities of waste, which contaminates the earth and pollutes rivers and oceans."

I'd like to know what is the difference between "gas emissions" and "exhaust fumes". Can they be used interchangably?
Also, I don't understand why the author use "contaminate", and then "pollute", they are of the same meaning to me. Am I wrong?

Thanks for your answer.

Answer

exhaust fumes is more common to say, but it can be from anything that gives off exhaust, not just gas

Answer

In my view, gas emission is a more general category. And Exhaust fumes by vehicles is one example of gas emission. Other gas emissions like sulfur dioxide emission which causes acid rain instead of global warming.

Contaminate means to "impurify" a source by adding harmful additions: The food is contaminated by bacteria.
Pollute is to contaminate the nature environmentally. The point is environmentally here: The rive is polluted by waste water.

Answer

"Contamination" you can reverse but "pollution" means complete damage. We use " contaminate" for general notions more, whereas "pollute" for more specific, exact objects. Pollution is a kind of contamination, but a more serious one.

Answer

"gas emission" is the process and "exhaust fume" is the gas itself, but sometimes they are used interchangably

Answers · 6

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