Effects Of Acid Rain

There is no question that acid rain has had a profound impact on the environment and on human lives. In this essay I will discuss the uneven distribution acid rain as well as the negative and positive effects thereof. If we talk about acid rain we have to know exactly what acid rain is. Acid rain is a combination of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, oxygen and water that creates a diluted mixture of sulfuric acid and nitric acid in the atmosphere. This mixture can be deposited in a number of ways which includes rain, fog, mist, snow and even dust.

Acid rain is not distributed evenly across the world because the industrial development of countries is not the same. Acid rain is formed mainly from burning fossil fuels by industries like coal-burning

In our natural environment the effect of acid rain can clearly be seen in the degradation of forests and the destruction of aquatic life in dams and rivers. We can look at the Black Forest in Germany that has big areas of dying trees that scientists contribute to acid rain (Park 1987:100). Soil loses its ability to neutralize the acidity from acid rain after a time which results in a drop in the PH level of the soil and this in turn slows down the growth rate of trees, it also weakens the tree to the extent that it becomes easy for parasites to infest and eventually kill. This is not the only effect that acid rain has on soil. When acid rain moves through soil it can mobilize toxic metals like aluminum and mercury that are already in the soil (Siegel 2002:52). This not only harms the vegetation but the water also flows into dams and rivers. Acid rain can alter the PH level of the water making it more acidic. Many aquatic creatures cannot tolerate the acidic water and dies. Some creatures might adapt for a time but only to a certain point. The destruction of our natural environment by acid rain is clear to see, but it also has a huge impact on the human

Microbes in wetlands are major contributors to the production of methane which is a greenhouse gas. Scientists have found that when acid rain is deposited on these wetlands that the production of methane was considerably reduced because the bacteria eating the sulfur suppressed the microbes that were emitting the methane and thus less methane being produced (Gauci & Chapman 2006:3506).

The fact is that acid rain is contributing to the destruction of our environment and as we have seen with the distribution of acid rain across the world it is everybody’s problem and not just the industrialized countries that produce the pollution. The negative effects of acid rain can be seen all around us in the dying forests and dams to the degradation of historical monument. Let us hope that governments can agree on an action plan to reduce and ultimately stop acid rain before it is too