Acid Rain

Modern society is becoming overwhelmed with great amounts of pollution from cars, factories, and an overabundance of garbage. The immense amounts of sulphur dioxide emitted into the air causes high levels of acid in the atmosphere. When this sulphuric acid is absorbed into moisture in the air, poignant rainfalls can be damaging to the external environment. Acid rain is a serious problem with disastrous effects. Each day this serious problem increases. Many people believe that this issue is too small to deal with right now, but this issue should be met head on and solved before it is too late.

Acid rain is defined as any rainfall that has an acidity level beyond what is expected in non-polluted rainfall. Any precipitation that has a pH value of less than 5.6 is considered to be acid precipitation.

One of the main causes of acid rain is sulfur dioxide. Natural sources that emit this gas are volcanoes, sea spray, rotting vegetation, and plankton. However, the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, are largely to be blamed for approximately half of the emissions of this gas in the world.

Nitric oxide and nitric dioxide are also components of acid rain. Its sources are mainly from power stations and exhaust fumes. Like sulfur dioxide, these nitrogen oxides rise into the atmosphere and are oxidized in clouds to form nitric acid.

Acid rain has drastic effects on our environment. It causes lakes and rivers to become acidic, killing off fish. Short-term increases in acid levels kill lots of fish, but the greatest threat is from long-term increases, which stop the fish reproducing. Plants and algae in lakes also suffer from increased acid levels. When the pH gets down to 4.5, virtually everything is dead.

How does acid rain affect humans? Among one of the serious side effects of acid pollution on humans are respiratory problems. The SO2 and NO2 emissions give rise to respiratory problems such as asthma, dry coughs, headaches, eye, nose, and throat irritations.

The best approach to acid rain is to reduce the amount of Nitrogen Oxides and Sulfur dioxides being released into the atmosphere. Fitting a catalytic converter to a car can reduce the emissions of nitrogen oxides by up to 90 percent, but they are very expensive, and cause more carbon dioxide to be released, which contributes to the greenhouse effect.

Sulfur Dioxide emissions from power stations can be reduced