Acid Rain And Acid Rain

As nations continue to develop and populations continue to soar, the demand for energy and food has grown exponentially. Energy and food production, however, produces various types of pollution that have numerous undesirable effects on our environment. A large portion of these pollutants are released into the atmosphere from factories worldwide. When considering all of the consequences of modern day pollution, acid rain is undoubtedly one of the major concerns. Because acid rain is capable of harming a wide range of both living and nonliving things, studying its various effects and the corresponding mechanisms can yield pertinent information, which can be used to combat its effects. Primarily, it is essential to distinguish acid rain from natural rain since rain is naturally acidic. Even in a clean environment, rain tends to be slightly acidic due to the presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. More specifically, when carbon dioxide gas dissolves in the raindrops, carbonic acid forms. However, carbonic acid is very weak, and only reduces the pH of rainwater to about 5.6 (Jacobson 259). When examining a pH scale, natural rain water is not too acidic compared to pure water, which has a pH of 7.0. On the other hand, in the presence of various pollutants in the

For instance, upon contact, acid rain can erode structures containing limestone, bronze, marble, and sandstone (Jacobson 266). In addition, by increasing the acidity of streams and increasing the aluminum content in the water, acid rain is responsible for the decrease of fish population in certain areas (Driscoll 6). More importantly, as will be discussed later, acid rain is capable of impeding plants’ ability to grow and function properly. Acid rain can harm a plant from various approaches such as depriving it of nutrients, and even damaging the surface of the