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Acid Rain Research Papers

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Acid Rain Paper

Acid Rain is classified as rain with a pH lower than 5.7. The pH of normal rainfall is around 5.6; the acidity in this is natural and due to the CO2 and carbonic acid that is present in the atmosphere. Acid rain contains higher amounts of nitric and sulfuric acids compared to normal rainfall. There are many factors of pollution that lead to acid rain. There are natural pollutants in acid rain including emissions from volcanic and decaying vegetation, but the majority of the pollutants are man-made. Emissions from sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NO) are the main causes of acid rain; both of these are a result of electric power generation and fossil fuel combustion. Burning coal, driving vehicles, CFCs, HAPs, …show more content…

All sources of energy have environmental benefits as well as environmental costs. Many of these energies are more efficient but more expensive to produce, which decides who is able to afford them. But I am sure that as time goes on these alternative sources of energy are becoming more and more cost effective. Acid rain majorly affects any environment and it is sometimes impossible to restore the environment back to the condition it was before the introduction of acid rain. Limestone is one way to shorten the healing process for acidic lakes, but while used extensively in Norway and Sweden it is a very expensive and tedious process and only considered a short-term remedy, but does allow the environment to return to health much quicker. There is no cure-all for the damages caused by acid rain. Time and a restoration of a healthy environment with a normal pH level is the only solution known to modern day technology at this time. Because of the harmful affects of acid rain, the distance it can travel and how pricey it is to try and reverse, it has become the reason for more than a few lawsuits. The basis for many of these lawsuits is that a factory in location A is causing a major (harmful) effect on the environment in location B. Acid rain occurs in clouds and these clouds may travel hundreds of miles; this is what the lawsuits are based on. The result of these lawsuits is that the

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