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Acid Precipitation. By Rebecca, Morgan and Rebecca. Acid Rain. During fossil fuel combustion sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are released into the atmosphere, and react with water, oxygen and other gasses to produce sulfuric acid, ammonium nitrate, and nitric acid
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Acid Precipitation By Rebecca, Morgan and Rebecca
Acid Rain • During fossil fuel combustion sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are released into the atmosphere, and react with water, oxygen and other gasses to produce sulfuric acid, ammonium nitrate, and nitric acid • Wind patterns disperse the acids across large areas, and then fall back to the ground as acid rain • Present in the north-eastern United States, south-eastern Canada, and parts of Europe
Environmental Effects of Acid Rain • Affects the plants, trees, rivers, lakes, soil and land • Loss of fish in acid sensitive lakes and streams • Influences forest vegetation, soils and weakens trees’ natural defences • Can remove soil nutrients such as calcium and magnesium from soils in high elevation forests • Deposits nitrates that can lead to increases in nitrogen in forests • Leads to unwanted growth of algae and other nuisance plants • Buildings, national monuments and bridges deteriorate faster
Solutions of Acid Rain • There are other alternative energy sources that do not produce harmful emissions (geothermal energy, solar power energy, wind energy, and water energy) • Many governments require energy producers to clean their smoke stacks with scrubbers, which trap pollutants before they are released into the air, and catalytic converters in cars to produce emissions • Conserve energy
Economical Effects of Acid Rain Surface Water and Aquatic Animals • Both the lower pH and higher aluminum concentrations in surface water that occur as a result of acid rain can cause damage to fish and other aquatic animals. At pHs lower than 5 most fish eggs will not hatch and lower pHs can kill adult fish. As lakes and rivers become more acidic biodiversity is reduced. Acid rain has eliminated insect life and some fish species Soil • Soil biology and chemistry can be seriously damaged by acid rain. Some microbes are unable to tolerate changes to low pHs and are killed. The enzymes of these microbes are denatured (changed in shape so they no longer function) by the acid. The hydronium ions of acid rain also mobilize toxins such as aluminum, and leach away essential nutrients and minerals such as magnesium. Forests and Other Vegetation • High altitude forests are especially vulnerable as they are often surrounded by clouds and fog which are more acidic than rain. Other plants can also be damaged by acid rain, but the effect on food crops is minimized by the application of lime and fertilizers to replace lost nutrients. In cultivated areas, limestone may also be added to increase the ability of the soil to keep the pH stable, but this tactic is largely unusable in the case of wilderness lands. When calcium is leached from the needles of red spruce, these trees become less cold tolerant and exhibit winter injury and even death.
Human Effects • Acid rain does not directly affect human health. The acid in the rainwater is too dilute to have direct adverse effects. However, the particulates responsible for acid rain (sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides) do have an adverse effect. Increased amounts of fine particulate matter in the air do contribute to heart and lung problems including asthma and bronchitis A Few exact examples: • Acid rain → acidic water → less fish → less money for fisherman → less money to spend and there for effecting the economy. • Acid rain → damaged buildings → claims on insurance → less money for insurance company and there for effecting the economy. • Acid rain → Poor air quality → respiratory illness → costing the government millions of dollars in health care and there for effecting the economy.
Cons of Acid Precipitation • Pollutes lakes • kills fish and marine animals • Kills trees and other vegetation • Eats away at statues and monuments • Bad for human health • Pollutes drinking water • Begins to destroy buildings
Social Effects of Acid Rain • Humans can become seriously ill and can die from the effects of acid rain. One of the major problems that acid rain can cause in a human being is respiratory problems. Many can find it difficult to breathe, especially people who have asthma. Asthma, along with dry coughs, headaches, and throat irritations can be caused by the sulphur dioxides and nitrogen oxides from acid rain. Acid rain can be absorbed by both plants (through soil and/or direct contact) and animals (from things they eat and/or direct contact). When humans eat these plants or animals, the toxins inside of their meals can affect them. Brain damage, kidney problems, and Alzheimer's disease has been linked to people eating "toxic" animals/plants. • The principal cause of acid rain is sulphuric and nitrogen compounds from human sources, such as electricity generation, factories and motor vehicles. Coal power plants are one of the most polluting. The gases can be carried hundreds of kilometres in the atmosphere before they are converted to acids and deposited. Factories used to have short funnels to let out smoke, but this caused many problems, so now, factories have longer smoke funnels. The problem with this is those pollutants get carried far off, where it creates more destruction.
Local Effects of Acid Precipitation • There are many problems and effects caused by acid rain. Acid rain can cause buildings, statues and bridges to deteriorate faster than usual. Another problem is it harms thousands of lakes, rivers, and streams worldwide. • The environment and effects on human health respond to total pollutant loading. A large area of Ontario, including Toronto, receives acidic depositions exceeding the critical load. Tens of thousands of lakes within the province remain damaged and acid rain remains a significant problem. It is unknown at this time what the impact acid rain has on Toronto's terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
