ACID RAIN
Acidrainiscausedbyachemicalreactionwhen
specificchemicalsarereleasedintheair(sulfurdioxideand
nitrogenoxides).Thesesubstancesareabletoriseveryhigh
intotheatmosphere,andtheymixandreactwithwater,
oxygenandotherchemicalstoformmoreacidicpollutants
(thatareveryharmfulparticlestotheenvironment,theyare
formedwhenparticlessuchassulfurdioxideandnitrogen
oxidemixwithoxygenandwaterintheatmosphereandform
intoacid),whichareknownas‘acidrain’.Mostofthetimes,it
isushumanswhoarethecausesofacidrain.Studieshave
shownthatinthepastfewdecades,humanshavebeen
releasingsomanydifferentchemicalsbybuildingfactoriesin
multipleareasaroundtheglobeand,havealsobeenpolluting
theworldwithdestructivechemicalsthatarereleasedintoair.
Nowadays,powerplantsreleasemostofthesulfurdioxides
andnitrogenoxideswhentheyburnfossilfuels,suchascoal,
tomanufactureelectricity.Inaddition,theexhaustfrom
transportations(cars,buses,trainsandmore…)releases
nitrogenoxidesandsulfurdioxidesintotheair.These
poisonousparticlescauseacidrain.However,ifthe
precipitationbecomestooacidicbyhumanactivities(suchas
pollutingtheairbyfactorysmokes),thesematerialsmaynot
beabletoneutralizeall
oftheacids.
Overtime,theseimportantneutralizingmaterialscanbe
washedawaybyacidrain,whichcaneasilydamagetheenvironment
suchasforests,livestocks,lakes,andmore.Thelakesusuallyhavea
pHlevelaround6.5but,whenitisaffectedbyacidrain,itcan
changeandmakethepHamuchlowernumberwhichmakesthelake
acidicandharmfultoanimalsandplants.Eventhoughacidrainsare
notdirectlyharmfultohumanbodies,ifyouswimthroughalakefilled
withacidrain,itwon’tdirectlyhurtyouoryourhealthunlessyoudrink
thesolutionwithoutboilingit.Butifyouhaveasthmaoranother
chronicdiseases,youwillhavetofacetheconsequenceswhich
probablyarethatitwillmakeitworse.
CAUSES
Effects
Butoneofthe
possibleand
somewhateasy
solutionscanbesaving
electricitywhichwe
useonadailylife
basis.Forexample,
don’tkeepthewater
runningwhileyouarebrushingyourteethorturnofftheelectricityina
roomoraspecificplaceifyouaren’tusingit.Thesesmallthingscan
beagreatwaytoreducetheamountofenergyweuseandifwe
motivateahugeamountofpeopledoit,thiscanbeasteptowards
notmakingacidrainthatoften.Buyinghybridelectricitycarscanalso
makeabigeffectonthisproblembecause,ifmostofthepopulation
startedusinghybridelectricitycars,therewouldbemuchlessair
pollutionthanmostofthepopulationowningavehiclethatusesgas
andcreatepollution.Alsotherearealreadyprojectsgoingonto
reducetheamountofacidrain.Oneofthemisthe“EPA’sAcidRain
Program”.Thisprogramlimitstheamountofsulfurdioxidethatpower
plantsreleasesintheair.Italsoreducestheamountofnitrogenoxides
thepowerplantscanrelease.
Inthenonlivingpartsof
theworld,itstillcancause
erosionwhichareveryharmful
totheenvironment.Also,acid
raincanaffectlotsofhistorical
andimportantbuildingsand
statues.SuchastheColosseum,
StatueofLiberty,Mosquesand
more.Theseimportantbuildings/statuesorevenanoldtruckcanbe
easilycorrodedbyacidrainiftheyincludebronzeandothermetals
suchasnickel,zinc,copperandcarbonsteel.Also,inlivingpartsofthe
environment,itcanaffecttheanimalslivinginoraroundthelake.
Because,studieshaveshownthatwhenitgetstoapHlevelof4to
lower,adultfishcaneasilydieandmanyaquaticcreaturessuchas
rainbowtrouts,bass,andfrogs.
solutions
bibliography
Factors//Counter Argument
Butontheotherhand,itmightnotbeworththemoneytochangethe
acidrain.Mainlybecause,eveniftheacidrainstopsfromasmallperiodoftime,it
mightrestartduetothelackofenergyweuseandtheamountofpollutionwe
createeverydaybythesefactorysmokes.Soeitherwayitprobablywillnot
stop.
Asmentionedintheparagraphsabove,manyenvironmentalthings
andalso,manyculturalthingscaneasilygetdamagedbyacidrain,Onthe
righthandside,youwillbeabletoseeavenndiagramincludingthecircles
‘environmental’and‘cultural’.Thesetwohaveafewsimilaritieswhichare
showninthemiddlewherethetwocirclesareintercepting.Oneofthemis
thattheycaneasilygetharmedcorrodedanddestroyedbyacidrain.For
example,whenthelakesandtheaquaticcreatureareaffectedbyacid
rain,theaquaticpopulationcandecreaseandcanbringoutahugeaffect
onthefoodchain.
Ifyouviewthisproblemfromtheculturalperspective,you
mightatfirstthinkthatacidraindestroyingtheenvironmentismore
importantandaevenmoreseriousproblemthenthis.But,ifyouseekdeep
intothetopic,youmightunderstandthattheprioritiesareprettymuchthe
same.Thisisbecause,ifimportanthistoricalobjectsgetdestroyedorisgone
andfullydestroyedbyacidrain,thefuturegenerationwillnothaveanyideaof
howitoriginallylookedlikewhenitwasnotdestroyedbyacidrain.Eventhough
theymightbeolddrawingsoroldpicturesleftofthem,itwillbeeasierto
understandifyouhadaclearpictureoftheobjectifyouwereexplainingitto
someone.Possiblyateachertalkingtotheclassandexplainingthedetails.
Vienna8C
Learning about Acid Rain: A Teacher's Guide for Grades 6 through 8. Washington, D.C.:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air and Radiation, Office of Atmospheric
Programs, Clean Air Markets Division, 2008. Acid Rain Students Site. United States
Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 5 Nov. 2015.
"Acid Rain Students Site: Glossary." Acid Rain Students Site: Glossary. United States
Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2015.
"Drinking Water and Acid Rain." Water Quality Information. Advanced Purification
Engineering Corp., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2015.
Gromicko, Nick, and Kate Tarasenko. "Acid Rain and Inspectors: Buildings at Risk." InterNACHI. International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, n.d. Web. 05 Nov.
2015.
Environmental
Erosion
Destroying the
environment
Destroying habitats
cultural
easily
corroded
Destroying
important
Things
Erosion
destroying historical
buildings
destroying the
culture