Acid rain is one of the very real and pressing problems of our age. It is one of the many destructive effects of human activity on this planet.
But, do you know what acid rain is and the consequences that it can have?
Get yourself up to speed with these 10 facts about acid rain.
- Acid rain is made from nitric and sulfuric acid, which is diluted into rain water.
- These acids are created when fossil fuels are burned. Fossil fuels release the nitrous oxides (NOX) and sulfur dioxides (SO2).
- The chemical formulae for nitrous oxides and sulfur dioxide are and SO2 respectively.
- Acid rain can harm human, plant and animal life.
- Heavy Industries that are responsible for acid rain include the electricity generation (particularly thermal power generation industry), heavy shipping industry, the aviation industry and any manufacturing industry that burns a lot of coal.
- In cities, acid rain is often most visible when it
- Switching to cleaner energy sources such as wind and hydroelectric energy will be a great way to halt acid rain.
- Acid rain does not just take the form of rain, though this is its main form. It can also fall as dew, snow, hail, or fog.
- Acid rain may be caused by one country, but it may affect other countries far distant from it. This is because of weather patterns such as global winds which move areas of rainfall from one country to the next.
- To give an idea of just how widespread acid rain is, the Great Lakes in the Michigan area of the US are hugely affected by acid rain. 88% of these world famous lakes have been acidified or even killed by acid rainfall.
Conclusion.
It is vital that we all take action to halt acid rain now. Individuals can all do their part, but it is also very much the case that whole industries will need to change their practices in order to stop causing acid rain. Electricity generation, shipping, agriculture, and manufacturing are some of the main industries that ought, urgently, to change the way in which they work to prevent acid rain from affecting the health and well-being of future generations.