Lan Mozetic
May 4, 2016
Patrick Youell
Science
Acid Rain
Acid Rain is caused by nature and by man - made contraptions. Nature releases gasses from decaying plants and volcanoes. Man made things like cars and factories cause the air to be polluted.
Acid Rain is caused by air pollution. This means that compounds and particles are added to the air. This changes the pH of rainwater and makes it more acidic. Atmospheric water should have a pH of 5.6. Pollutants like nitric and sulfuric acids make particles that are more acidic and help create acid rain.
Acid rain is considered dangerous because it damages anything it comes in contact with. Only in the 1960’s did scientists start researching acid rain and the damage that it can do. They started wondering why the statues were starting to become deformed.
What is the problem of acid rain?
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There are many problems with acid rain:animals, plants and soil get damaged by acid rain. Because of it’s acidity it cause (for example) trees to not be able to produce enough nutrients to support the tree and it’s ability to grow. When acid rain falls into the water it causes some fish that can’t tolerate a large amount of acid to die. After they die they float in the water and are eaten by other animals. Since the fish live in the water it’s whole body is affected by the acid and when it is eaten, the other animal also get poisoned by the acid. Acid rain is also very harmful to humans. It causes smog. Smog is a mixture between smoke and fog. Smog is created by volcanoes when they erupt, acid rain and when a large amount of coal is burned.
Acid rain has done many bad things in the past. For example in Sweden there was enough acidic water mixed in the drinking water that it could make a person's hair green. A big tragedy happened in London in the year of 1952. A very acidic smog killed 4,000. In India the Taj Mahal(one of the 7 wonders of the world) is being threatened by acid rain.
Many countries are affected by acid rain. The countries that are most affected are.: N.W USA, S.E Canada, central Europe, Scandinavia (Sweden, Finland and Norway),India and China.
Many scientists have been thinking of solutions towards acid rain. Most think and say that coal burning is one of the main causes of acid rain. They suggest finding another way of mining coal and how to use cars that run on fuel or cars that run on electricity. They also suggest going places by bike, walking or using electric trams in the city. This could also help with the problem of obesity.
Along with most things in the world acid rain has a history. It's hard to pin - down exactly when the problem started by scientists assume it started in the 1730’s during the industrial revolution. The problem itself was discovered in the 1950’s but only started getting investigated in the 1960’s. In 1984 it was reported that almost half of the trees in the Black Forest in Germany have been damaged by acid rain.
The USA and 24 other nations made an agreement on rules limiting nitrogen oxide emissions to 1987 levels. In the 1990’s they made rules with “ Clean Air Act” to lower the amount of sulfur dioxide from power plants down to 10 million tonnes by January 1, 2000. We should take care of our planet and not kill it with pollution and acid rain.
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