Acid Rain
Since the beginning of time, humans have learned to make use of many things in nature such as fire and electricity. From the early times through the Industrial Revolution to the Space Age, humans have produced inventions that use many of the earth's varied energy resources to make living easier. In many cases the energy comes from burning fossil fuels -- coal, oil and natural gas. Some of the inventions that make our lives easier are also causing pollution. Pollution is the release of harmful substances into the environment. One form of pollution is acid rain. Acid rain can damage plants, animals, soil, water, building materials, and people. Scientists have discovered that burning fossil fuels creates acid rain through air pollution. People burn fossil fuels such as coal and oil to make electricity. Electricity heats and lights buildings and runs appliances such as televisions and video recorders. Fossil fuels power our cars, buses, and airplanes. The air pollution created when these fuels burn does not stay in the air forever. It can return to the earth as acid rain. And when it does, it may weaken the plant and animal life it contacts. Acid rain is only one form of pollution that results from burning fossil fuels
Scientists believe that acidic water dissolves the nutrients and helpful minerals in the soil and then washes them away before the trees and other plants can use them to grow. Acid rain has the same effect on buildings and monuments. Because of differences in emissions and wind patterns, levels of acid deposition are generally lower in the western United States than in the eastern United States. A substance that is neither acidic nor basic is neutral. Automobile batteries contain a stronger form of some of the same acid that is in acid rain. The mixture traps the sulfur before it can escape into the air above. There are problems with using hydroelectric and nuclear power. Without buffering capacity, soil pH would change rapidly. Dry DepositionAcid rain does not account for all of the acidity that falls back to earth from pollutants. Also, some areas that receive acid rain show a lot of damage, while other areas that receive about the same amount of acid rain do not appear to be harmed at all. For example, fish eat other fish and also other plants and animals that live in the lake or stream. Hydroelectric plants require a constant source of water. Less of these toxic substances are released when the rainfall is cleaner. The large amounts of acids produced by human activities overload this natural acidity.
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