The Effects of Acid Rain essays

The Effects of Acid Rain essays What is acid precipitation? What are the effects of it? Where is this acid coming from? What can we do to stop it? These are questions you should be able to answer after reading this paper. Acid Rain, or acid precipitation, is the word used to describe rainfall that has a pH level of less than 5.6. This form of air pollution is currently a subject of great controversy because of its worldwide environmental damages. Acid rain is formed when oxides of nitrogen and sulfite combine with moisture in the atmosphere to make nitric and sulfuric acids. The two primary sources of acid rain are sulfur dioxide, and oxides of nitrogen. Scientists have discovered that air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels is the major cause of these oxides (Acid Rain). Power plants and factories burn coal and oil. Power plants use that coal and oil to produce the electricity we need to heat and light our homes and to run our electric appliances. We also burn natural gas, coal, and oil to heat our homes. The smoke and fumes from burning fossil fuels rise into the atmosphere and combine with the moisture in the air to form acid rain. Acid rain usually forms high in the clouds where sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides react with water, oxygen, and oxidants. This forms a mild solution of sulfuric acid and nitric acid. Sunlight increases the rate of most of these reactions. Rainwater, snow, fog, and other forms of precipitation containing those mild solutions of sulfuric and nitric acids fall to the earth as acid rain (ABCs). Even before this, water must go through the hydrologic cycle. In this cycle, water in the atmosphere picks up particles and chemicals that are floating in the air. Even clean, unpolluted air has some particles such as dust or pollen. Clean air also contains naturally occurring gases such as carbon dioxide. The interaction between the water droplets and these gases in the atmosphere gives ...