Acid Rain
Anood Al-Thani 8D
Rain is one of the important needs in life. To survive all living things need water to
survive so do humans. Rain is one of the sources that provide us with water yet, in parts of the
world rain has become a hazard. This is so because of air pollution by acid gases (from
factories), cars and homes. Rain is becoming to be a danger to all living creatures. This rain is
known as acid rain.
Acid gases are created when fossil fuels such as oil or coal are burned in factories, power
stations and also in our own home. The majority of these acid gases are blown into the sky,
therefore mixed with the clouds which can cause rain – or snow, sleet, fog, mist or hail to turn
more acidic. When burning fuels, chemicals called sulphur and nitrogen are released into the air,
they mix with water in the air (rain, snow etc…) next, they turn in to different chemicals called
sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide which are very harmful to plants, animals and humans and
other living things. Nearly all of the sulphur’s origin is from power stations (where electricity
comes from) and also from volcanoes. The nitrogen oxides come from cars and truck exhaust.
Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are two of the main cause of acid rain.
Air pollution is a big issue to today’s concerns in the health of the world. Air pollution
can travel over long distances. When the acid gases are released in to the air, they travel high up
in the sky then pushed by strong winds so that they can easily reach to other countries. For
example, the acid rain in Sweden is caused by the air pollution in Britain and other countries in
Europe. Small particles of debris found in some of the air pollution are one of the main causes to
human's health problems from acid rain. In towns and cities, particles are released by diesel
engines from trucks and cars. When breathing I air pollution, particles can easily enter the
humans body which can cause breathing problems and over time cancer. If we drink from water
in the tap, it could be polluted with acid rain and can therefore damage our brains.
When rain is acidic, it's very dangerous if it falls on to trees, buildings, lakes and
farmland. Sometimes rain is not as acidic and may not be as harmful yet if it is, it a danger to the
environment. Acid rain can have a terrible effect on the forest. The acid takes away important
minerals from the leaves and soil. When the minerals are taken away it’s a problem because,
minerals are vitamins for the plants of the forest. Without these minerals, the trees and plants
can't grow properly. At that stage of the process, the trees start to lose their leaves and become
very weak. The trees and plants are no longer strong enough to live, then later on die.
Acid rain has a terrible effect on the water life. It falls in to rivers and streams then into
lakes. Some life in the water such as fish and plants may end up dying because they cannot
survive in acidic waters. One example of acidic lakes is in Scandinavia. Thousands of the lakes
located in Scandinavia are completely dead and there's no more life in them. Scandinavia has
been receiving acid rain for many years, because of the winds pushing the acid gases that nothing
can survive. It's easy to recognize a dead lake from its clean and crystal clear water. They look
this way because of the fact that there's nothing living in them anymore.
Acid rain can also damage building by eating into the metal and stone. It can also ruin
stained glass and plastics. Building materials differentiate with others. Some are softer and some
are harder then others. The softer ones tend to be the most damaged by acid rain. Stones that are
soft and could be wrecked easily are: sandstone and limestone. A harder type of stone is: Granite,
which could resist the affects of acid rain. Worldwide many famous monuments have been
affected by acid rain. For example, the statue of liberty in New York, USA has to be restored
from acid rain damages. Buildings are naturally worn out by rain, wind frost and the sub but with
acid rain it fastens the process.
People can do many things to safe that has been done to the environment by acid rain.
People could reduce the amounts of trips that they take to travel from one place to another.
Another major way of the pollution is caused by creating electrical energy. When electricity is
created, fuels are usually burned, and this causes the pollution, which causes acid rain. Burning
coal and other fossil fuels causes most of our pollution. Every time that people turn on the lights,
that causes the pollution that causes acid rain. Even doing little things that people think doesn't
cause pollution sometimes really do. People should cut down on the use of machines and other
macheinery that produce smoke into the air. By decreasing the use of cars, trucks, factories an
such that are one of the main causes to air pollution will help reduce the risks of acid rain and its
damages to the enviorment. Scients can help by decreasing the use of electrical energy. Solar
energy is a much better solution to using electrical energy. The problem with solar energy is that
it couldn’t be used at all time because it is charged up by the sun. People need to reduce this
issue as is can harm the living.
Acid Rain has been related to many other factors yet the most sutible is the enviornemnt. The
enviornment is the affecting it by damaging it and killing the living. When the water is has
affected the toxic chemicalsin the acid rain, many fishes die. Other animals, such as mammels
eat these fishes and later on they are poisened too. Birds also eats fishing and the same result
happens to them causes them to die. The lakes and other areas where people get water from are
not safe anymore from all the pollution. This is putting the humans health at risk as he to may die
eventually after consuming any part of the acidic waters. Breathing has been a problem and other
diseases too have been showing up in countries because of the pollution in the air. If this issue
keeps on continuing, there will be a decreasing number in population worldwide. Acid rain also
connects to to political factor too. In the USA, the have tried to solve the issue of pollution by
creating an organization to prevent air pollution. Yet, in other countries the government doesn’t
accept air pollution as a major problem affecting their country. Sooner or later their country is
going to get damaged by acid rain, then they might take notice that it is a major issue.