Aura
8A
CAUSES
Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, peat and
natural gasses, are often used in
industrial processes. A lot of these
processes involve burning or heating
the fossil fuels. Sulphur is an element
found in coal and oil. When these are
burned in power plants and
industrial processes, it combines
with oxygen to create sulphur dioxide
(SO2). Most chemicals do not react with SO2, therefore allowing it to
travel long distance. Nitrogen is more than 50% of the atmosphere, so
when heated up to temperatures found in steam boilers, it combines
with oxygen found in the atmosphere to form nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
Once they have been released into the air, they can be transported by
air currents. When these pollutants are combined with water, they
form acids. Sulphur dioxide becomes sulphate acid and nitrogen
dioxide becomes nitrogen acid. That is how acid rain is created. The
rain is carried around by air currents and eventually falls as rain or
snow. Normal rain already starts of a little bit acidic
due to
carbonic oxide in the atmosphere but the acidity
levels drop more with the sulphuric and
nitrogen oxides.
EFFECTS
There are two ways acid rain effects lakes and rivers - chronic and
episodic. Chronic acidification happens during the course of years of
acidic rainfall. It increases the acidity in the water by decreasing the
alkalinity (the pH level goes down). Chronic acidification can reduce
amounts of nutrients in the water, such as calcium which can weaken
the fish over time and affect other animals in the
aquatic ecosystem. Episodic acidification happens
when there is a sudden increase of acidity in the
water. It can occur from heavy rainfall, or in spring
when the snow starts to melt and becomes more acidic than
normal. It can cause sudden shifts in water chemistry, leading to
high concentration of substances such as Aluminium. These
substances are toxic to fish, and so when fish take in these toxics, it
can eliminate whole species of fish in a waterbody, decrease fish
population and decrease the biodiversity.
Another way acid rain effects the environment and non living things, is
through corrosion. The dry deposit of acidic
particles from the acid rain onto metals contribute
to corrosion, and the detiriation of paint and
stone, for example marble. It can also make
buildings and statues dirtier, increasing
maintenance costs. These are environmental
issues as they effect the ecosystems and
environmental surroundings.
A possible solution to reduce acid rain is raising ethical awareness of the cause and adverse
impact of fossil fuel usage in individuals, society, government , corporations and other regulators.
In order to solve the problem, we need to make more people aware of the cause of acid rain. If
more people knew what the cause of acid rain is and the damage it does, they would be ethically more liable. The
main cause for acid rain is the fossil fuel usage for industrial processes, that release the pollutants. Fossil
fuel usage contributes to carbon emission, other dangerous gas emissions. The more fossil fuels used, the
bigger your carbon footprint.T o spread awareness we can use social media to educate more people and
reach wider audiences, we can create clubs after school, we can teach younger children about the
contribution to acid rain that fossil fuels have, anything to increase their ethical awareness. Theres many ways that an
individual can help this cause too, they can ride a bike to places instead of using a car, or when buying a car
they could buy a car that uses renewable energy instead of fossil fuels or a car that has low NOx emissions,
turn off lights, use electrical appliances when needed and be well informed. These actions are from ethical
and moral standpoints , as this will raise the awareness of the causes and effects of acid rain. It will appeal
to the moral consciousness of the society and individuals to take action.
SOLUTION