Point 1: Why I choose acid rain:
I choose acid rain for my project because I wanted to understand better how the rain becomes to an acid and why it is such a big issue for nature.
Point 2: What causes acid rain:
Acid rain is caused by sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. The gases are mainly produced by burning fossil fuels like coal or natural gas. In the US, 2/3 of all SO¬2 and 1/4 of NOx are produced by fossil fuel combustion. The other amount is naturally produced by decaying plants, volcanos. Very small amounts of nitrogen oxides are also caused by lightning strikes. Once in the atmosphere, acid rain is separated into two categories: wet deposition and dry deposition. Wet deposition means that the gases dissolve in the condensed water in clouds and raise the number of hydrogen ions in the water drops. Dry deposition means that the gases are brought back to the ground either by dust or smoke from the combustion. The particles stick to buildings, cars or trees. The particles will be washed away by rain water, in which the gases dissolve and the number of hydrogen ions increases again.
Source: http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/what/index.html
Point 3: Sulfur dioxide:
Sulfur dioxide is a toxic gas with a rotten smell. The molecular shape is bent due to the lone electron pair at the sulfur atom. There are two resonant structures for sulfur dioxide. That means that the double bond between sulfur and oxygen can occur at both bonds. The 3 in the blue diamond of the chemical labels indicates that sulfur dioxide can cause serious or permanent injuries. The zeros in the red and yellow diamonds indicate that sulfur dioxide will not burn under typical fire conditions and is normally stable.
Sources: http://cameochemicals.noaa.gov/ch...
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... it. The only real way to reduce acid rain is to reduce the amount of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides produced. This can be achieved by using alternative energy sources. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) created policies about sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides to reduce effects of acid rain.
Sources: http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/effects/index.html
http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/reducing/index.html
Point 8: Interesting facts
Since 1998, Harvard University warps every winter their bronze and marble statues in waterproof covers to protect them from the acid rain. The term acid rain describes all kinds of acidic precipitation, for example fog, hail, or snow. Acid rain and acid air pollution is liked to lung problems of children and people who have asthma.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_rain
http://acidrain2004.tripod.com/id11.html
In conclusion, “Acid Rain: Scourge from the Skies” was effective in proving how severe acid rain is and can be. Robert Collins wrote informatively about a notable subject what anyone can comprehend and he used many commendable writing devices which all added to the effectiveness of the essay.
Rotting vegetation and erupting volcanoes release some chemicals that can cause acid rain, but most acid rain falls because of human activities. When humans burn fossil fuels, sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) are released into the atmosphere. If large amounts of NO2 and SO2 are present in the atmosphere than the pH of rainwater will be significantly lowered. Nitric acid (HN03) can be linked to around 1/4 of the acid rain in the environment. Large amounts of NO gas is produced by high-temperature air combustion that takes place in car engines and power plants....
Acid gases are produced when fossil fuels like coal and oil are burned in power stations, factories and in our own homes. Acid rain is rain that has been made acidic by certain pollutants in the air. Most of these acid gases are blown into the sky, and when they mix with the clouds it can cause rain - or snow, sleet, fog, mist or hail - to become more acidic. Acid rain is rain that has been made acidic by certain pollutants in the air. Acid rain occurs when these gases react in the atmosphere with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form various acidic compounds. The result is a mild solution of sulfuric acid and nitric acid. When sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released from power plants and other sources, prevailing winds blow these
Rain occurs nature as part of the water cycle, but sometimes rain can do more harm than good. Acid rain can causes damage to plants, animals, and even structures. Acid rain occurs naturally without human interference, but since humans started to make objects that contribute to the creation of acid rain, it happens more frequently than if humans would not be involved. People not only raised the amount of acid rain that falls, they can also be the ones to bring the amount back down to reasonable levels.
Formed high in the clouds where sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides combine with oxygen and water, acid rain has a devastating ability to kill off aquatic systems, vegetation, animals, etc. The definition of acid rain is the deposition of acidic components in rain, fog, snow, and sleet. Regular rain has a pH that is slightly acidic at 5.6, but what makes one worry are the places like Washington, D.C., which possesses rain readings of 4.2 to 4.4 on the pH scale. Acid rain is mainly composed of Sulfuric Oxide (SO2) and Nitrous Oxide, which are common air pollutants from big industries, 70% of which are electric utility plants. If one views the amount pH levels of various areas around the nation it is easy to see that there is a problem, especially when a 4.0 pH level can drive many fish to die.
One of the biggest environmental problems that needs dealing with in society today is acid deposition. It is largely caused by humans, and causes much pollution to the environment and harms people and buildings as well. Although there are minimal positive sides to this issue, the negatives far outweigh it and call people around the world to take action to reduce and even solve this problem. Coming in both wet and dry forms, acid deposition consists of acidic pollutants including nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides that have been deposited from the atmosphere to the surface of the earth. There are both wet and dry forms of acid deposition, wet forms being referred to as acid precipitation. Acid precipitation is the result of sulfur and nitrogen oxides reacting in the atmosphere with water vapor. This returns to the earth as acid rain or snow. Dry deposition occurs when these oxides react without water and they settle out of the atmosphere onto the earth. Acid deposition can come from a number of different sources such as smokestacks, trucks and cars. More than 90% of the sulfur in the atmosphere comes from humans. Coal burning, the smelting of metal sulfide ores, and automobile exhaust are major human contributions to sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere. Similarly, 95% of the increased nitrogen oxide levels in the atmosphere are a result of the activities of humans. The activity that contributes the most to these elevated levels is the combustion of oil, coal, and gas. Attention was first drawn to acid deposition in the 17th century when the bad effects of industry and acidic pollution on both vegetation and people were noticed. In the 1960s, it became an international problem when fishermen noticed declines in fish numbers and diversity in lakes across North America and Europe. Acid deposition causes many problems such as these worldwide, and is clearly a problem that needs to be properly dealt with.
Acid rain has a harmful impact on the environment which is a serious environmental problem that affects large parts of the United States and Canada. Acid rain is particularly damaging to lakes, streams, forests and the plants and animals that live in these ecosystems. Acid rain is referring to a mixture of wet and dry deposition from the atmosphere containing higher than normal amounts of nitric and sulfuric acids. They are oxidized in the air until they are converted to sulfuric and nitric acids. These acids are then captured by raindrops which fall to the earth as acid precipitation. This process is called deposition. We know this as acid rain, but we can have acidic snow or hail and even acidic dust particles falling from the sky. It can occur in natural resources, such as volcanoes and decaying vegetation, and man-made sources, primarily of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides resulting from fossil fuel combustion.
The topic of this paper is acid deposition, also known as acid Rain. Acid rain is precipitation, as rain, snow or sleet containing relatively high concentration of acid forming chemicals. As the pollutants from coal, smoke, chemical manufacturing, and smelting, that have been released into the atmosphere and combine with water vapor, the harmful deposition is created (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/acid+rain). Acid rain affects many things greatly.
It is particularly damaging to lakes, streams, forests, and the creatures that inhabit these ecosystems (EPA). The primary cause of acid rain is the oxidation of sulfur, nitrogen, and carbon compounds (Goyer). Acid rain is not only harmful to nature, but also to humans in a direct way, it accelerates the decay of building materials, including monuments or historic buildings. Acid rain is also harmful to human health, While acid rain cannot burn skin, it is linked to several indirect health effects (Boumis). Studies performed by scholars such as Dr. Goyer 's "Human Health Effects of Acid Rain," have shown that people with bronchial afflictions or asthmatic tendencies are more prone to episodes of bronchial discomfort or inflammation when exposed to the chemicals present in acid rain
Acid rain is relevant in today’s society more than ever because ever since the Industrial Revolution we are burning fuel that contain nitrogen and sulphur compounds. Nature produces some nitrogen dioxide and some sulphur dioxide but that does not compare to how much power stations, motor vehicles and blast furnaces produce. The acid rain is killing off wildlife, corroding buildings and reacting with nutrients in the soil. The acid rain can get into our waterways and poison the water, we can also breathe it in and the acid would irritate our upper respiratory tract. Our environment is degrading and acid rain is a big catalyst.
Acid rain is a form of acid deposition, and there are many types of acid deposition. Deposition is the process in which a gas turns into a solid matter. Types of wet acid deposition, which involves gases turning into liquids, include acid rain, sleet, snow, fog, and haze. Forms of dry acid deposition include acid gas and dust. Scientists and others use a measure called pH to find the relative acidity of a liquid. If a liquid has a low pH level, it is
Acid deposition is a widespread problem found all over the world. Since the beginning of the 1900s, countries had started to face with environmental problems that are occurred by acid deposition or accumulations of acids and acidic gases in the atmosphere and the surface of Earth. These accumulations can be classified as wet deposition and dry deposition. As wet deposition refers to acid precipitation, which is unusually acidic according to the pH scale (the scale numbered from 0 to 14 to measure acid levels in pH), dry deposition refers to an accumulation of acidic gases and acidic particles. Most of the release of chemicals such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides by industrial activities and transportation cause acid deposition by forming into sulfuric acid and nitric acid. Although strong emission control laws are taken to prevent the release of nitrogen oxides and sulfuric dioxide by industrial activities, it is not enough to avoid its harmful impacts on nature, human health, and man-made products.
Acid rain, another effect of air pollution, is formed when sulfur-rich fuels such as coal and oil are burned and combined with water. This rain is harmful to our environment because sulfur creates an acid that kills fish, trees, plants, and crops. It also damages paint on cars and wears away the stone used in buildings and statues (Stille 31). Acid ra...
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.
Smog is a photochemical created by fog or haze combined with sulfur oxide, soot particulates, and other chemicals in the atmosphere. Smog creates acid rain, acid rain is the byproduct of rain while there is smog. Normal rain has a pH level of 5-5.5, acid rain has a pH level of 4.0. Acid rain causes lakes and streams to become more acidic, this harms sensitive plants and trees animals and anything else that may take in or consume the water. Acid rain also decays priceless buildings, sculptures, and statues, such as the Statue of Liberty.