Nvironmental Impact of Acid Rain

One of the most dangerous and widespread forms of pollution is the one that people cannot immediately see. This kind of pollution can go undetected for years until people can see its devastating effects on the environment. The unseen plague as some scientists called it is the acid rain. Acid rain is an extremely damaging form of pollution and the environment suffers from its effects. Numerous living and non-living organisms and structures are affected and damaged as a result of this phenomenon. According to Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, the first occurrence of acid rain was in Manchester, England during the Industrial Revolution. It was in 1852 that Robert Angus Smith discovered that acid rain and atmospheric pollution are closely linked to each other and could lead to natural destruction. It was in the 1970s that scientists began to take concern on acid rain ("Acid rain" n.p.). From previous scientific studies, the acidity of rain in some parts of the world has dramatically increased over the past few decades. It is now common in many places for rain to be ten to seventy times more acid than unpolluted rain. Forests, trees, lakes, animals, plants and humans suffer from acid rain. It is truly a worldwide issue that needs to be addressed. An in-depth look at acid rain, its causes and effects and possible solutions will be analyzed in this paper.

The Acid Rain Phenomenon

In the article posted in the official website of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the term acid rain is the broad term that is commonly used to describe the deposition of acidic components that fall out of the atmosphere. The acidic compounds are said to be carried down in rain, snow, fog, dew, dust, or dry particles ("Environmental Benefits of Reducing Acid Rain," n.p.). Acidic means that these forms of water have a pH lower than the 5.6 average of rainwater. Rain is naturally acidic due to carbon dioxide, normally found in the earth's atmosphere, which reacts with water to form carbonic acid. While the unpolluted rain normal acidity is between pH 5.6-5.7, actual pH readings vary from place to place depending upon the type and amount of other gases present in the air. If the acidity in the rain is blow this level then it is considered to be acidic.

When sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) chemically react with other substances they become acid rain. SO2 and NOx are primarily released from the burning of coal, oil, and other fossil fuels form acidic compounds. They are also emitted from automobile, truck and bus exhausts. When these pollutants reach the atmosphere they combine with gaseous water in clouds and change to acids, thus becoming sulphuric acid and nitric acid. Then, rain and snow wash these acids from the air.

Effects of Acid Rain

Many scientists, state governments, and academic study acidification processes are ongoing to understand the effects of acid rain. Air and water samples are collected and measured to determine the substances' pH and chemical composition. To be able to solve the acid rain problem, people need to understand how acid rain causes damage to the environment. It is also essential to understand what changes could be made to the air pollution sources that cause the problem. This way, leaders and the society can make better decisions on how to control air pollution and therefore how to reduce - or even eliminate - acid rain.

The acidification of lakes and streams is caused by acid rain. This phenomenon also contributes to the damage of trees at high elevations and many sensitive forest soils. Moreover, acid rain speeds up the decay of building materials and paints. This includes historical and expensive buildings, statues, and sculptures that are part of a nation's cultural heritage. Before acid rain falls down the earth, SO2 and NOx gases and their particulate matter derivatives, sulfates and nitrates, contribute to visibility degradation and harm public health.

Acid rain affects lakes, streams, rivers, bays, ponds and other bodies of water by increasing their acidity until fish and other aquatic creatures can no longer live. Aquatic plants grow best between pH 7.0 and 9.2 (Bourodimos 64). When a lake or any body of water is polluted by acid rain the toughest species are the only survival. As acidity increases, submerged aquatic plants decrease and deprive waterfowl of their basic food source. At pH 6, freshwater shrimp cannot survive. At pH 5.5, bottom-dwelling bacterial decomposers begin to die and leave undecomposed leaf litter and other organic debris to collect on the bottom. This deprives plankton--tiny creatures that form the base of the aquatic food chain--of food, so that they too disappear. Below a pH of about 4.5, all fish die. Hence, it wipes out the main source of food for birds. Moreover, when birds eat the affected fish and insects, they can die from eating the toxic fish and insects. This also happens if fish consume toxic food from the affected body of water. Due to acid rain's high toxin, it has the capacity to kill fish before they are born. Acid rain hits the lakes mostly in the springtime. Unfortunately, this is also the time when fish lay their eggs. The entire generation of fish can be killed when the eggs come into contact with the acid. Fish usually die when the acid level of a lake is high. However, they can become sick when acid level is lower. Consequently, fish will suffer stunted growth, or lose their ability to reproduce. As undecomposed organic leaf-litter increases, owing to the loss of bottom-dwelling bacteria, toxic metals such as aluminum, mercury and lead within the litter are released. Other metal flows into the water from the soils in the surrounding watershed. These toxic metals are bad for human health; high lead levels may harm people who drink such water and people who ingest mercury in tainted fish suffer serious health problems. Most of the frogs and insects also die when the water reaches pH 4.5.

As undecomposed organic leaf-litter increases, owing to the loss of bottom-dwelling bacteria in the water, toxic metals such as aluminum, mercury and lead within the litter are released. Other metal flows into the water from the soils in the surrounding watershed. These toxic metals are harmful to human health. When people drink such water and ingest mercury in tainted fish, they can suffer serious health problems.

Trees are affected by acid rain due to the direct contact between trees and acid rain. In addition to this, trees may absorb soil that has come into contact with acid rain. Thus, the soil poisons the tree with toxic substances that the rain has deposited into it. The effect of acid rain on tress is almost the same as with the fish. Trees can also suffer from stunted growth. Toxic metals like