INTRODUCTION
The term acid rain refers to the process of deposition or precipitation of hydrogen ions with a pH value below 5.0, in the atmosphere. These acidic substances are produced by the pollutants on the earth that are airborne. These acidic precipitates will pour down as water droplets along with normal rain water whose pH lie between 5.0 and 5.6 creating hazardous effects on the living organisms of earth.
HISTORY
The cause of acid rain is mainly due to industrial pollutants. Acid rain was first reported during the Industrial Revolution in England in 1852.A Scottish chemist by name Robert Angus Smith discovered the same. [Briney A, 2001]However the term ‘Acid Rain’ was coined in the year 1972 by the scientist in his book,”Air and Rain: The Beginnings of Chemical Climatology “.Awareness towards acid rain started to increase rapidly among people from then on. In today’s date even a small kid is taught about acid rain and made to understand the importance of preserving the environment from pollution.
ACID RAIN FORMATION
Air is polluted by both natural and artificial sources. The major contributors of acid rain are the oxides of sulphur and oxides of nitrogen. These oxides released through pollutants settle in the atmosphere. They then combine with the moisture in the atmosphere to form acid rain. The acid rain thus collected in the cloud gets released along with the raindrops of normal water thereby forming acid rain [J.N.B Bell, 1981] .The rain water that pours down will obviously contain the most harmful sulphuric acid and nitric acid. The effects created by this acid rain unimaginable. They just burn the living being alive in seconds creating a permanent destruction to the earth.
CAUSES
As seen earlier, the major con...
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...hould take care that we do not become the root cause for the day on which the whole world will get drenched in acid rain.
Nature is precious. Every individual must realize this fact and start their action to create a green and clean environment in future, as always prevention is better than cure!
Works Cited
Briney A, The Causes, History and Effects of Acid Rain, 2001
J.N.B Bell, An update on acid rain: A UK Viewpoint, 1981
Lane C A, Acid Rain –Overview and Abstracts, 2003
Epa, Available at, http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/effects/surface_water.html, Accessed on 13th August 2010
Wolosz T, Effects of Acid Rain, SUNY Plattsburgh States College, New York, 2005
Trotman G, Acid rain – A review of the phenomenon in the EEC & Europe, 1983
Kneese A, Measuring the benefits of clean air and water, 1984
BrimbleCombe P, Acid Rain –Deposition to Recovery, 2007
Rather than worry too much about emissions, we should accept the world is going to get warmer anyway and adapt to global warming by building better flood defenses and developing drought resistant crops.
The Industrial Revolution was not only a turning point in the progress of human history, but the start of a great change in the Earth’s environment. Technological advances in industry and mass migration into urban areas led to a rising demand for energy sources, a demand met by fossil fuels. Casper, J. (2010) describes coal as ‘symbolic of the beginning of the Industrial Revolution’, the increased combustion of these ‘dirty’ fossil fuels further polluted the air and enhanced the volume of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Changes in land use attributed to population rise, reduced the amount of photosynthesising biomass on Earth, diminished an important ‘carbon sink’ and concluded to enhance the Greenhouse Effect.
This silent killer is destroying these beautiful lakes and their surrounding watersheds. Acid rain has an adverse effect on the lakes, and their surrounding watersheds, of the Adirondacks in New York State.Acid rain is defined as chemically polluted rainfall. It's causes are: coal burning plants, industrial factories, smelters, and car emissions. It's formed by water molecules combining with the sulfur dioxide emitted by the burning of coal and with nitrogen oxide from auto emissions.
In conclusion, “Acid Rain: Scourge from the Skies” was effective in proving how severe acid rain is and can be. Robert Collins wrote informatively about a notable subject what anyone can comprehend and he used many commendable writing devices which all added to the effectiveness of the essay.
Acid rain has been proven to have damage forests, fresh waters and soils, killing insect and aquatic life-forms. It also causes damage to buildings and impacts on human health. Many people do not know what acid rain actually is. Acid rain is any form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, low pH levels, higher than normal amounts of sulfuric and nitric acid, occurs naturally and from man made sources. Forms when gases react in the atmosphere with water, oxygen, and other chemicals (what is acid rain?). The only water that will not have some amount of acidity is pure water. Pure water has a pH of 7 which is neutral; regular, unpolluted rain water has a pH of around 5.6. The acidity in rain water comes from the presence of Carbon Dioxide, Nitrogen Oxide, and Sulfur Dioxide. CO2 reacts with water to form carbonic acid. Nitrogen and water react during lightning storms, forming Nitric Oxide. NO is then oxidized to form N02. The NO2 reacts with water to form nitric acid. Due to this, the pH is lowered to be slightly acidic (Acid Rain). Acid rain can occur naturally in the environment, but the problem occurs when human interaction is the cause of the acidic levels.
Acid rain affects many things in our world greatly. Acid rain is precipitation that has been released into the atmosphere and is very harmful and can do lots of damage.
Acid gases are produced when fossil fuels like coal and oil are burned in power stations, factories and in our own homes. Acid rain is rain that has been made acidic by certain pollutants in the air. Most of these acid gases are blown into the sky, and when they mix with the clouds it can cause rain - or snow, sleet, fog, mist or hail - to become more acidic. Acid rain is rain that has been made acidic by certain pollutants in the air. Acid rain occurs when these gases react in the atmosphere with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form various acidic compounds. The result is a mild solution of sulfuric acid and nitric acid. When sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released from power plants and other sources, prevailing winds blow these
Don’t you want the trash cleaned up to enjoy nature? Don’t you want the water clean for you to drink? And don’t you want to see the skies clear and blue all the time? If we don’t act now, there might not be a world to save. Go green for the sake of the future.
Pollution is affecting many individuals and life, as we know it. We need to do something about how it’s affecting our world. That’s why I urge the issue that more people should realize that pollution is an issue that needs to be prevented because of its negative consequences. Which are health affects, the total destruction of environments, and the death of animals and plants. More awareness must be brought up amongst the people and they must realize the long-term benefits it has for the world.
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The protection of the environment however has just recently become the major issue that it is in today’s society. People worldwide have slowly begun to realize and become aware of the blatant destruction and deterioration of the environment and ozone. As well as the consequences and side affects, that we, as a society have created. The majority of people are just becoming aware of the frightening reality of the situation. As society becomes more informed on the issue of the environment, they too become more impatient, and feel that in the snap of fingers, the damage can be reversed and future damage can be stopped instantaneously.
Acid rain is when chemicals like nitrogen and sulphur-dioxide are released into the atmosphere and react with the water vapour, and acid pours in form of rain. This is very dangerous because it destroys infrastructures and some buildings, and also dissolves the human
The environment today is not in a good condition, Climate change is evident, and oceans are getting polluted. Rainforrest's are decreasing in size due to deforestation and illegal logging. Animals are getting extinct due to the destruction of their habitats. Natural resources are being consumed at very large amounts, and get wasted. There are different ways these problems can be addressed, one option is environmental management. Environmental management focuses on conservation of natural resources, protection of habitats, and impact of humans on the environment. Conservation of natural resources is the smart use of the world's resources by humans, through this waste production is limited, and there will be less garbage in the world. By conserving
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