Summary

Our environment has been suffering from many problems that have plagued earth for years. These problems cannot be ignored or it might have catastrophic results on our environment. Acid rain is a wide spread term used to describe all forms of acid precipitation, rain snow and dust. Acid rain is a serious problem with disastrous effects and this problem is increasing each day. It causes grave damage to our natural wild and aquatic life and can also have an adverse effect on human life.

It causes fish and plants to die in waters. As well it causes harm to our own race as well, because we eat these fish, drink this water and eat these plants. However acid rain on its own is not the biggest problem. It causes many other problems such as aluminum poisoning. As Acid rain is a serious problem with disastrous effects, each day this serious problem increases, this issue should be met head on and solved before it is too late.

This report focuses on what is acid rain, what cause acid, what are the effect of acid rain and try to find how to reduce and eliminate Acid rain causes.

2. What is Acid rain?

2.1 The Definition of Acid Rain

 

According to “acid rain and the facts” (2002, p1) “acid rain is rain, snow or fog that is polluted by acid in the atmosphere causing damages to the environment ", Acid rain is a broad term used to describe several ways that acids fall out of the atmosphere. A more precise term is acid deposition, which has two parts: wet and dry.

Wet deposition refers to acidic rain, fog, and snow. As this acidic water flows over and through the ground, it effects a variety of plants and animals. The strength of the effects depend on many factors, including the level of acid in the water, the chemistry and buffering capacity of the soils involved, and the types of fish, trees, and other living life that rely on the water.

Dry deposition refers to acidic gases and particles. About half of the acidity in the atmosphere falls back to earth through dry deposition. The wind then blows these acidic particles and gases onto buildings, cars, homes, and trees. However, dry deposited gases and particles can be washed from trees and other surfaces by rainstorms. When that happens, the runoff water adds those acids to the acid rain, making the combination more acidic than the falling rain alone.

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 Figure 1

                             (http://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/acidrain)

2.2 How to Measure Acid Rain?

Acid rain is measured using a scale called "pH". The lower a substance's pH is, the more acidic it is. Normal rain is slightly acidic because carbon dioxide dissolves into it, resulting in a pH of approximately 5.5 while pure water has a pH of 7.0. (Elsom,1987:p34)

3. Causes of Acid rain

3.1 History of Acid rain

During the 1970s many countries ...

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