Acid Rain
"Acid Rain," or more precisely acidic precipitation, is the term used to describe
rainfall that has a pH level of less than 5.6--a pH of 7 being neutral. This form of air
pollution is currently a subject of great controversy because of the damage it does to the environment and property worldwide. For the last ten years, this occurrence has brought destruction to thousands of lakes and streams in the United States, Canada, and parts of Europe. It also leads to the deterioration of buildings and statues by reacting with several minerals. Acid rain is formed when oxides of nitrogen and sulfite combine with moisture in the atmosphere to make nitric and sulfuric acids. These acids can be carried away far from its origin.
The two primary sources of acid rain are sulfur dioxide (SO2), and oxides of nitrogen
(NOx). Sulfur dioxide is a colorless gas released as a by-product of combusted fossil fuels containing sulfur (Farnham, http://www.ems.psu.edu/info/explore/AcidRain.html). A
variety of industrial processes, such as the production of iron and steel, utility factories, and crude oil processing produce this gas. Sulfur dioxide can also be emitted into the atmosphere by natural disasters or means (Farnham, http://www.ems.psu.edu/info/explore/AcidRain.html). This accounts for ten percent of all
sulfur dioxide emission, coming from volcanoes, sea spray, plankton, and rotting
vegetation. Overall, 69.4 percent of sulfur dioxide is produced by industrial combustion.
Only 3.7 percent is caused by transportation (Farnham,
http://www.ems.psu.edu/info/explore/AcidRain.html).
The other chemical that is also chiefly responsible for the make-up of acid rain is
nitrogen oxide. Oxides of nitrogen is a term used to describe any compound of nitrogen
with any amount of oxygen atoms. Nitrogen monoxide and nitrogen dioxide are all oxides
of nitrogen. These gases are by-products of firing processes of extreme high temperatures (automobiles, utility plants), and in chemical industries (fertilizer production) (Phamornsuwana,
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hall/9111/DOC.HTML#SPECIFIC). Natural
processes such as bacterial action in soil, forest fires, volcanic action, and lightning make up five percent of nitrogen oxide emission (Phamornsuwana,
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hall/9111/DOC.HTML#SPECIFIC).
Transportation ...
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...emits nitrogen oxide, automobiles and coal-fired
electric utility boilers (Farnham, http://www.ems.psu.edu/info/explore/AcidRain.html).
What humans can do, as citizens, to reduce sulfur and nitrogen dioxide emission is to
reduce the use of fossil fuels. Car pools, public transportation, or walking can reduce
tons of nitrogen oxide emissions. Using less energy benefits the environment because the
energy used comes from fossil fuels which can lead to acid rain. For example, turning off lights not being used, and reduce air conditioning and heat usage. Replacing old
appliances and electronics with newer energy efficient products is also an excellent idea.
Sulfur dioxide emission can be reduced by adding scrubbers to utility plants (Farnham,
http://www.ems.psu.edu/info/explore/AcidRain.html). An alternative power source can
also be used in power plants to reduce emissions. These alternatives are: geothermal
energy, solar power energy, wind energy, and water energy.
Bibliography
.Sarn Phamornsuwana (1999). Causes, effects and solutions of acid rain. Retrieved 9 Feb.
.Shayne Farnham (1999). Acid rain: Meteorology independent study. Retrieved 27 Mar.
America’s Manifest Destiny first surfaced around the 1840’s, when John O’Sullivan first titled the ideals that America had recently gained on claiming the West as their ‘Manifest Destiny.’ Americans wanted to settle in the West for multiple reasons, from the idea that God wanted them to settle all the way to the West co...
Hacking into large companies or agencies to steal one’s card information has become simple. Lewis (2013) says that, “Hacking is incredibly easy; survey data consistently shows that 80 to 90 percent of successful breaches of corporate networks required only the most basic techniques“(p. 1). On November 27, 2013, Target’s security was breeched when forty million credit and debit cards were stolen. The breach lasted from November 27 to December 15, 2013.
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... removing and/or stopping the pollution that is emitted into the air from large refineries or factories. In fact, the essay claims that “Of several techniques to remove pollution during industrial coal combustion, perhaps the most effective is ‘scrubbing,’ in which gases are washed in a desulphurizing bath before going into the atmosphere.” This is informative because it shows that there is a way control acid rain. Similarly, the essay stated many different ways in which everyday people could help control the amount of pollution that is discharged into the air. A solution like carpooling so that the amount of pollutants that are emitted into the air are lowered is just one of the many ways discussed in the essay for society to lower the pollution in the air. The informative way in which Robert Collins presented his idea’s added to the effectiveness of the essay.
Rain is naturally acidic, due to the CO2 dissolved in it, however when sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen react with the rain water they form sulphuric, and nitric acids which make the rain strongly acidic. SO2 + ½O2 + H2O → H2SO4 It may also take the form of snow or fog. The sulphur dioxides and oxides of nitrogen come mainly from industry. Acid rain is currently a subject of great controversy because of widespread environmental damage for which it has been blamed, including eroding structures, injuring crops and forests, and threatening or depleting life in freshwater lakes.
Martin Luther King did not know that his “I Have a Dream” speech would still be iconic 50 years later. In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington. He was facing the problem of racial injustice for himself and everyone like him. He needed to create a speech that everyone could and would understand, could learn from, and could draw inspiration from. He had to address blacks and whites, he had to say things that everyone could relate to and he had speak in a way that he get the
Sulfur dioxide is a colorless gas which with a pungent odor. It will become liquid form when under pressure (heat) and will dissolves in water very fast or easily. The primary sources of sulfur dioxide are comes mainly from some activities such as burning of fossil fuel to provide electric power, process of making steel, coal-burning and others. However, it can also be released from the natural volcanic activity or volcanic eruption to the air. This gaseous can easily pose a threat to the living things such as human, animal and plant.
The emission of carbon dioxide has contributed to 80% to the heating of the earth atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is produced due the burning of fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal and oil. The burning of fossil fuel is very important in our society today, because it is used for cooking, used to produce electricity, for heating, for cooling and also for transportation. The industrialization has led to the use of fossil fuel for running machines and driving cars. The building of fossil fuel contributes towards 80-90% of the carbon dioxide we find in our atmosphere today. When the ecosystems are altered and vegetation is either burned or took out, the carbon stored in them is relinquished to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (What causes global climate change, 2005). Methane is another gas being produced in the process which all have served to increase the greenhouse effect in our atmosphere. Methane is produced from the cultivation of rice, from the burning of coal and from cattle, it has increased by 145% due to human
United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Methane and Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Natural Science. Washington: Office of Atmospheric Programs, April 2010. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
* Nitrogen Oxides are presented through the atmosphere. N2O are very powerful in the chemistry of the troposphere and the stratosphere, and they are very important in ozone production and in the destruction processes. There are a number of sources (the oxidation of N2O like lightning and fossil fuel combustion) whose contribution to NOx concentrations in the upper troposphere is not well measured.
PURPOSE: To persuade my audience that we must take action now to control air pollution
Rain forms when water vapor condenses and falls, the more it condenses the more it falls. Some raindrops are not pure and are filled with other materials, this is known as acid rain. Acid rain is a huge problem all over the world. Acid rain is mixture of chemicals, like fossil fuels and the atmosphere, it then comes down as rain, snow, hail, and sleet. The burning of fossil fuels is the main cause of acid rain. When oil and coal are burned they create sulfur dioxide, nitric oxide, and nitrogen dioxide. (" Acid Rain | US EPA") The mixture of all the chemicals and heavy winds blow the compounds across many borders.
In recent years global warming has been on the rise. The importance of this issue is so that we as a nation can be aware of the drastic changes which are occurring rapidly around the world. Although there isn 't one set resolution to solve climate change, we must continue to carry out ways to put it to a halt. Some of the ways I believe we can cut this crisis is to stop polluting the manufacturing of toxic gases which is filling our environment with smog. If we all put our ideas and opinions in ways to prevent some causes of climate change, the world in which we live will be a better place. Instead of being a part of the problem we can be a part of the solution. Opposed to just humans, animals, and other species are affected as a result of
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