Acid RainAcid rain is basically rain that has a higher than normalacid level (low pH).
Causes of Acid Rain• Burning coal. Oil and natural gas in power stations makes electricity, giving off sulphur dioxide gas.• Burning petrol and oil in vehicle engines gives off nitrogen oxides as gases.• These gases mix with water vapour and rainwater in the atmosphere producing weak solutions of sulphuric and nitric acids – which fall as acid rain.
The Problem!People probably couldnt live withoutelectricity! Therefore coal will continue to be burnt.Also, electricity and energy are constantlybeing overused.Think of it this way: every time you turn on alight switch or the television set without reallyneeding to, youre indirectly contributing to the acidrain problem.
More problems!!!• Acid rain can travel long distances.• Often it doesn’t fall where the gas is produced. High chimneys disperse (spread) the gases and winds blow them great distances before they dissolve and fall to Earth as rain.• Eg gases produced in England and Western Europe can result in acid rain in Scotland and Scandinavia.
How Acid Rain Affects The EnvironmentAcid rain is an extremely destructiveform of pollution, and theenvironment suffers from its effects.Forests, trees, lakes, animals, andplants suffer from acid rain.TreesThe needles and leaves of the treesturn brown and fall off.Trees can also suffer from stuntedgrowth; and have damaged barkand leaves, which makes themvulnerable to weather, disease, andinsects.
All of this happens partlybecause of direct contactbetween trees and acid rain,but it also happens whentrees absorb soil that hascome into contact with acidrain.The soil poisons the treewith toxic substances thatthe rain has deposited intoit.
Lakes are also damaged by acid rain. Fish die off, andthat removes the main source of food for birds. Acid raincan even kill fish before they are born when the eggs arelaid and come into contact with the acid.Fish usually die only when the acid level of a lake ishigh; when the acid level is lower, they can become sick,suffer stunted growth, or lose their ability to reproduce.Also, birds can die from eating "toxic" fish and insects.
BuildingsAcid rain dissolves the stonework and mortar of buildings(especially those made out of sandstone or limestone).It reacts with the minerals in the stone to form a powderysubstance that can be washed away by rain.
TransportCurrently, both the railway industry and the aeroplaneindustry are having to spend a lot of money to repair thecorrosive damage done by acid rain. Also, bridges havecollapsed in the past due to acid rain corrosion.
HumansHumans can become seriously ill,and can even die from the effects ofacid rain. One of the majorproblems that acid rain can cause ina human being is respiratoryproblems.Many can find it difficult to breathe,especially people who haveasthma. Asthma, along with drycoughs, headaches, and throatirritations can be caused by thesulphur dioxides and nitrogenoxides from acid rain.
Acid rain can be absorbed by both plants (through soiland/or direct contact) and animals (from things they eat and/or direct contact). When humans eat these plants oranimals, the toxins inside of their meals can affect them.Brain damage, kidney problems, and Alzheimers diseasehas been linked to people eating "toxic" animals/plants.
Research carried out in NorthAmerica in 1982, revealed thatsulphur pollution killed 51,000 peopleand about 200,000 people become illas a result of the pollution.
Solutions• 1. Sulphur dioxide can be removed from power stations chimneys but this process is expensive.• 2. Reduce the amount of electricity we use- turn tv’s off at the mains, don’t leave on standby.- turn off lights when a room is not in use.• 3. Use renewable energy like wind power, solar panels, tidal power, HEP schemes and geothermal energy.• 4. Fit catalytic converters to vehicle exhausts which remove the nitrogen oxides.• 5. Limit the number of vehicles on the roads and increase public transport.
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