As much as 85% of coal mined in the U.S.A is burned; that is a very large amount.
Acid rain has seriously harmed forests, soil, lakes, rivers and buildings. In Scandinavia large areas of coniferous forest are dying. Trees and vegetation has been destroyed. Increasing acidity in the soil has become an economical effect for farmers, as their crops are dying and they do not have much to sell. Swamps and rotting plants give off sulphur dioxide. When soil is acidified, tree roots are damaged, leaving then not able to draw enough nutrients to support the tree. When acid rain falls on trees, it makes their leaves turn brownish, yellow and the tree can no longer carry out photosynthesis properly. Some natural causes such as volcano eruptions, and lightening, do also contribute, but only account for 10% of pollution causing acid rain. Birds in the forest can be harmed if they live in affected waters or feed on fish living in affected areas.
A social problem is when people breathe in smog; acid rain in one of its many forms, Acid rain can also harm people indirectly. This happens when people eat fish caught in affected lakes, or rivers. Also, if the water source is acidic enough, it will react with copper or lead pipes to harm humans. It also washes aluminum into the water supply. People also get disease, and loss of families, becomes a serious thing. Central heating systems, gases and particles are released into the air, and pollute the atmosphere.
An economical affect is corrosion and wearing away of buildings, and statues, which have to be replaced, or re-built; is also going to be costly. An environmental impact is that lakes are being destroyed at a very fast rate. Fishes in the lakes, cannot survive in such high acidity, most fish die about the pH 4; leaving lakes to be lifeless. People living nearby do not have the leisure, of being able to go and enjoy the beautiful scenery, or just go there with their families. A particular lake, in Scandinavia, which has been polluted so much that people don’t even want to come and visit it no more. I have a quote here from a person living nearby the lake and this is what they have to say about acid rain and its effect.
“I have lived near this lovely lake for more then 50 years, and slowly seen it die. I noticed fewer insects and beetles and fishermen only starting to catch old roach. The lake is very clear now, the stones at the bottom covered with white moss which creeps across the lake floor.”
“More then on-third of trees have been damaged in Germany, large number of beach and oak have been damaged. I been coming here since I was 15, and the pine has become very damaged. Roots are long and tongue the needles wither and turn brown.”
As you can see, these are the true feelings of local people, and if they are not happy, then we must do something about it!
Below are some images of the effects of acid rain:
There are many possible solutions to the acid rain problem. One is to use fuels, that burn cleanlier, and to burn coal more efficiently. Clean air act - using low-sulphur fuels. Brown coal or ignite is high in sulphur, North Sea oil has a low sulphur content. Coal could be treated to reduce, sulphur levels, by it being crushed, washed and treated with chemicals.
Power plant and factory chimneys can be fitted with scrubbers that release 90-95% sulphur free smoke, and also produces sludge from which gypsum, a building material, can be produced. Enforcing tight emission standards on vehicles that burn gas and diesel can solve this problem.
One other solution we could try is, fitting devices such as catalytic converter into car exhaust pipes to minimize the amount of sulphur dioxide in car exhaust. We could also cut back on car use by walking, cycling, using public transit, or carpooling.
We could help by turning off electrical devices not in use such as lights and computers, we would be amazed to see how much difference we can make, by just remembering the little things. We could advertise on the television, so people could start to recognise and start to act fast.
We could use a new type boiler, which allows sulphur to remain in the ash. Also spraying sulphur with water, which converts gas, into sulphur acid, which could be neutralized by adding lime. So from there liming lakes, and forests.
Also we could try purifying fuel gases. This reduces the sulphur dioxide content, of the gases going up the chimney. One other solution could be, to use wind turbines. They don’t produce any harmful chemicals.
Most countries have unleaded petrol. Other countries such as west Germany, and the Netherlands, are still thinking about raising their standards. The U.K, however, has opposed such tough measures, ‘until the technology, is available.’
I hope that the government will take my advice upon and, try and discuss these ideas. If we leave it too late, we may never be able to solve the problem.
People who will have different views that are opposite to mine are e.g. politicians. They will worry that people will not want to pay for more things like energy, and cars or order to preserve the environment. We wont know until we try. Would people rather spend a little more money, or see their environment die?
U.K politician- “before we take any action, my government wants to be sure of the factors that damage and change the environment. We feel that more scientific research is needed.”
Swedish politician - we know that emissions from power stations play a large part in the acidification of our lakes. We cannot wait until the scientists have all the evidence. We must act on what we know now. The U.K contributes more pollution than Switzerland, Denmark and the Netherlands.”
As you can see, these two politicians have very different views. The country, which is being affected, really wants to do something about it, but the U.K does not feel the need to hurry. Maybe if it were the other way around, then we would feel the same as other countries being seriously affected by acid rain.
We have to put a stop to acid rain, as it is affecting everyone. People need to take in to account, the impacts of acid rain; it has become a serious international problem, and affects the world. People should realise what’s going on and we should let more and more people know, and then when we all want the same thing, we can come together, and make a difference.
I hope that by understanding, the things which I have explained, and other peoples views, will help the government, follow my advice and decisions in which we need to make, to move on, and help make a better world.
