ACID RAINname hereEngineering 303iProfessor hMay 3, 2004BIBLIOGRAPHYPenguin Publishing House, 1987 , Pearce Fred Acid Rain. What is it andwhat is it doing to us?New York Publishers, 1989, William Stone Acid Rain. Fiend or Foe?Lucent books, Inc.
1990, Steward Gail Acid Rain. Acid RainAcid rain is a great problem in our world. It causes fish and plants to die because earths rainwaters are contaminated. It also causes harm to people as well, because we eat fish, drink water and eat plants that are polluted by acid rain. It is a problem that we must all face together and try to get rid of.
However, acid rain on it’s own is not the biggest problem. It causes many other problems such as aluminum poisoning. Acid Rain is deadly. Acid rain is polluted rain.
The pollutants go up to the atmosphere and when it rains it brings the pollution down with it. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are the gases that form the acid rain. When these gases mix with moisture it can make rain, snow, hail, or even fog. The scientific term for acid rain is acid deposition that means when the acid is taken from the air and is deposited on the earth. Major industries, coal burning factories, power plants and automobile engines are the main sources of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide that cause acid rain. Volcanoes and forest fires also causes sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide.
Some of the many problems that come from acid rain are the killing of many plants and underwater life in thousands of lakes and streams around the world. It strips forest soils of nutrients and damages farm crops. Acid rain can also corrode stone buildings, bridges, and priceless monuments. Acid rain can also be harmful to humans because acid rain kills the crops and fish we eat, ruins homes, and the acid can release lead in the pipes and the lead could go into our drinking water. It is hard to determine where acid rain may fall next, because the wind from a polluted area could carry pollution to another area and the acid rain could fall there.
The regions affected more by acid rain are large parts of eastern North America, Scandinavia, and central Europe. In many of places acid rain isn’t a problem because some soils can neutralize the acid and it doesn’t affect the crops. Areas more sensitive to acid rain is in the western United States most of Washington all of Oregon, sections of California and most of Idaho. Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and a large section of northeast Canada. The soil in these places can not neutralize acid rain deposits, then the nutrients are stripped which means the crops in those places may not survive.
The Black forest is a mountainous region in Baden-Wurttemberg, in southwestern Germany. The valleys are fertile and make good pastureland as well as providing good soil vineyards. No forest region is showing serious effects of acid rain. Many trees are dying, the forest lost masses of needles, leaving them with sparse, scuffing crowns. Their major industries are Lumbering wood, manufacturing toys and cuckoo clocks.
Winter sports and mineral springs attract tourists. Acid rain can damage and ruin soils by stripping the soils nutrients. But some soils can neutralize and weaken acid deposits that fall from the sky. These soils are called alkaline soil, also called a base.
In 1838 the German chemist Justus von Liebig offered the first really useful definition of an acid, namely, a compound containing hydrogen that can react with a metal to produce hydrogen gas. Soil is formed when rocks are broken up by the weather and erosion and mixed with organic matter from plants and animals. The term soil generally refers to the loose surface of the Earth, made from solid rock. To the farmer, soil is the natural medium for growth of all land plants. The rocks that make up soil could be acid, neutral, or alkaline, another name for a base. Limestone and chalk are rocks that are formed from tiny shells that are rich in calcium.
Alkaline is made up of calcium. When acid rain falls on alkaline soil the calcium makes the acid become weaker or
