Acid Rain Essay

Acid rain is rain that has become acidic, because of air pollutants in the atmosphere. Rain has a normal pH level of around 5-5.5 which is only slightly acidic. 7 on the pH scale is the neutral and anything below that is considered acidic. Acid rain has a pH level around 4 which is 10 times more acidic. Acid rain can fall in many different ways and has many effects on the environment.

Substances are released which run off into water bodies and toxic to water life. Acidic materials deposited directly from the atmosphere also have the effect of altering the acid balance in water bodies and this too has an effect on the life they support. Acidic deposition onto sensitive buildings causes decay of stonework and other materials.(Environment Agency: Acid Rain, page 1)

The pH scale is 1 to 14, 7 being the best quality. To the right is a pH scale. 7 is what the water should be. 7 is also what we had for the creek average. We had a higher number of rocks neutralizing acid (limestone is the stone found mostly in the creek) than the ones that don’t. this means that the acid rain we get is mostly neutralized by limestone in the stream. We get acid rain from Philadelphia. This is because of the massive steel companies. All of the toxic smoke comes over and comes down in the conodoguinet as acid rain. So the creek is non-acidic and non-alkaline.

Acidity of an ecosystem, measured in pH, is a crucial factor to the survival of a species in an ecosystem. Altering it can have result in dramatically negative effects, in spite of the fact that pH of an ecosystem has been dramatically changed over a relatively short period of time due to various human activities. For example, acid rain is a major environmental problem that is caused by human-made pollution. When fossil fuels are burnt to get energy, pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides get mixed into the rainwater and eventually are evaporated into the atmosphere. These gases enter the atmosphere, and mix with water in the water cycle to form an acidic mixture of water and gases. This water falls in the form of acid rain, which

Soil, which is the layer of earth on the top where plants and vegetation grow, contains a pH balance, everything does. The pH, acidity, or alkalinity balance of each type of soil that is being observed can affect the plants, because it determines how many nutrients are being deposited to them. It

Acid deposition can come in two forms, dry and wet. Wet deposition is when the acid falls in the form of fog, snow or other precipitation. Dry deposition is found in dry areas where it does not precipitate often. In these areas the chemicals fall as dust or smoke, and stick to whatever they land on. Acid deposition can be result to both natural and manmade sources. Natural sources of acid deposition include electrical storms, volcanoes, and decaying vegetation. Man-made emissions, from power plants that burn fossil fuels are released into the atmosphere as nitrogen oxides (NOx), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). These elements react to oxygen, water, and other gasses in the atmosphere in order to form acidic compounds. These acidic compounds then fall in either a wet or dry form. Acid rain can have a potentially devastating effects on the ecosystem it falls on. When acid rain hits the ground, it faces a natural buffer in the soil often in the form of limestone and calcium carbonate. The water will then travel into either a stream or a lake, where it affects fish. If the fallen rain has a pH at or below 5 undesirable species invade, often in the form of mosses or plankton. The top layer of water becomes too acidic for the inhabitants reproductive cycle to work properly, slowly killing off the

We also did acidity test, to see if acid rain affect the creek. We got 7 PPM at the pH paper test, which means the pH level is neutral. When we tested the alkalinity level which is on average 13 PPM. This means when acid rain hits the creek, the alkalinity neutralizes the acid. We, also tested how many rocks neutralize acid. In total, 65 rocks neutralize acid, whereas 29 did not neutralize acid, which is about 70%. I conducted that acid rain does not affect the river, so acid rain is not a problem for the

living organisms to be able to adjust to acidic rain that quickly in a short time span. According

The range is between 0 and 14 and shows how basic or acidic the tested water is on a logarithmic scale. The lower the number, the more acidic the water is. A healthy lake is slightly acidic at 6.5 and in levels lower than 4.2, fish will not be able to survive. As pH levels move away from 6.5, more stress could be caused to aquatic life which could raise mortality rates. Changes in pH levels can also be natural or anthropogenic. Natural influences include carbonic materials in the water. When carbonic minerals are in the water, the alkalinity of the water increases (Host 2005). The levels of pH can also fluctuate due to human-induced reasons such as pollution and acid rain. Acid rain is any form of precipitation that has a pH level less than five (Mack 2014). Point source pollution can also influence pH levels. Chemicals from point source pollution result from agriculture and industrial runoff. Decreases in pH levels could result from respiration, decomposition, and an increase in carbon dioxide. Increases in pH levels result from photosynthesis and a decrease in carbon

Acid rain is rain that has been made acidic by certain pollutants in the air and has low pH levels that can harm the environment. It is a type of acid deposition that can appear in many forms such as, wet deposition, which can be rain, sleet snow or fog that is more acidic than normal, and dry deposition, where gases and dust particles become acidic. (Epa.gov) Acid deposition in wet and dry forms, falls on buildings, cars and trees and makes lakes acidic, which then leads to the danger of plant and animal life. Dry acid deposition though, can be inhaled by humans, which can then cause health problems. (Epa.gov)

This fluctuation occurs due to an uptake of Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere. When this Carbon Dioxide is absorbed by the ocean it changes the chemical composition of the water. When Carbon Dioxide dissolves in the ocean, Carbonic Acid is created. This acid begins to raise the acidity of the water, primarily close the surface, which has been proven to impede the growth of the shells of certain marine species such as corals, oysters, and lobsters. Carbonic Acid has also been proven to be a leading cause of reproductive disorders in some fish species. On the pH scale, substances are rated from 0 to 14. The lower numbers of the scale, such as those with pH levels of five or under, are considered to be more acidic. Conversely, the higher numbers on the scale such as numbers nine or higher, are considered to be more basic. A pH level of seven is perceived as neutral. Examples of substances believed to be more acidic include: (in order from most acidic to least) battery acid, sulfuric acid, vinegar, et cetera. Some of the substances perceived to be more basic include: drain cleaner, bleach, and Ammonia. As far back as records have been made, the ocean’s pH has been a tad basic, averaging about 8.2. Today, the pH is approximately 8.1, a descent of 0.1 pH units. This drop in pH represents a 25-percent

““Acidic Deposition in the Northeastern United States: Sources and Inputs, Ecosystem Effects, and Management Strategies.” BioScience, vol. 51, no.3, March 2001, pp. 180-196, https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/51/3/180/256122/Acidic-Deposition-in-the-Northeastern-United III. “Acid rain in Europe and the United States: an update”: • Acid deposition is caused by the emissions of SO2 and NOx • Regions strongly affected by acid rain include Europe, eastern North America, and Southeast Asia. • Soil acidification affects vegetation and acidification of water.

     “North Americans have been smelting ore and burning fossil fuels for generations. In the past, the gases went up ordinary chimneys or small smoke stacks, to descend upon near by areas and pollute them,” states author, Robert Collins. Almost everyone knows what acid rain is and has a vague idea of the consequences that exist as a cause of it. Most people however do not realize the severity of acid rain. The essay “Acid Rain: Scourge from the Skies” by Robert Collins was very effective in showing the true severity of acid rain. By using excellent developmental devices, Robert Collins was able to write an effective essay that is appealing to today’s society, as well as

Acid rain affects thousands of people worldwide and is produced by factories and car fumes. It is the product of humanity and should not happen if we were careful of our carbon emissions. This phenomenon has contributed to many ruined water sources around the world. If acid rain was never a problem then places like Canada would have more forests and trees in Ontario. Also not as much coral would be dying in the ocean. Acid rain is a serious problem that needs to be addressed with caution and must be effectively dealt with before it is too

The Bowen plant was an unusually large plant with a capacity to serve the residential, commercial and industrial demands of 1 million people. The Bowen generators consumed 8.338 million tons of coal and generated 21,551 million kilowatt-hours of electricity. During 1990, Bowen plant emitted over 30 tons of sulfur dioxide per hour, an important precursor of acid rain. In 1990, Congress passes the