The Acid Rain - Research Paper Example

Acid Rain: Causes and effects on the environment The human race has been progressing significantly since the day of its existence. This progress has helped the human race to improve the quality of life as well as create several more opportunities for further progress. But with every step we take towards a better life, either the human race or the world had to pay a price. With the development of factories, with the development of automobiles, the refrigeration systems have been emitting certain substances in the environment, causing enough damage to prove costly both for the planet earth and its resident.

Looking back in the history, the rate of emission of these harmful substances has increased to a very dangerous level leading to a severely polluted environment. The depletion of the ozone layer, noise pollution, global warming and acid rain are some of the dangerous affects of the increased pollution that are concerning the scientists nowadays. Acid rain has been a major concern for the scientists throughout the world after global warming. Acid rain is called as excessive quantities of acidic gases such as carbon dioxide, nitric oxide in the air.

These gasses accumulate in the air increasing its ph to less than 5.6 and fall on the earth in either solid or wet forms. The wet form could be rain, fog or snow while the dry form could be the in the form of dust settling on the surface (Bubenick 1984). The effects of this falling rain and the dust settling on the surface of earth are detrimental. The causes of acid rain are mainly the excessive smoke generated by the burning of fossil fuels in the factories and the smoke emitted by the increased number of vehicles sunning on the roads.

Although the fumes emitted by the volcanoes also add to this acidity but the human factor is considered more important and contributing to the increased acidity. The major gasses to contribute in the formation of acid rain are sulphur dioxide, nitric oxide and carbon dioxide. These gasses combine with the water droplets in the air and form acids such as sulphuric and nitric acid. The acids formed as a result come down on the earth in the form of rain, snow or fog (Bubenick 1984). The detrimental effects of acid rain are observed on all the aspects of human life and the environment.

The major effects observed are on the water life of earth. The water that is falling on the earth follows down in the form of streams and channels to the seas and increased the acidity of all these water channels kill the aquatic life including the frogs, the fish and other small animals. These dead bodies decompose but some of them do not and settle in the depths to pollute the water, making it unsafe to use (Acid rain, Think quest, library.thinkquest.com) . The acid rain is also supposed to have severe effects on the wildlife including the trees in the forests.

The acid coming in the form of rain destroys the outer protective coating of the resulting in the absorption of the acid inside the trees. This not only stunts the growth of the plant but also makes it vulnerable to harsh environmental conditions (Acid rain facts, National geographic.com). The effects of acid rain on human beings are presented mainly by breathing problems, respiratory system infections in children and also premature deaths in many countries due to congenital problems produced by the effects of these gasses in the pregnant women.

Conclusion Acid rain has been a major environmental issue in the recent past. Caused by the gaseous emissions from the modern day industries, vehicles and volcanoes, it has many detrimental effects on the environment of the earth (Acid rain, US environmental protection agency, www.epa.gov) . Acid rain affects both the water and land life and measures need to be taken to prevent further spread of this hazardous condition. Work CitedBubenick, David V, and Frank Record. Acid Rain Information Book.

Park Ridge, N.J., USA: Noyes Publications, 1984. Print."ACID RAIN." Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) :: Architecture, Business, Engineering, IT, Humanities, Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2012. ."Acid Rain." ThinkQuest : Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2012. ."Acid Rain Facts, Acid Rain Information, Acid Rain Pictures, Acid Rain Effects - National Geographic." Environment Facts, Environment Science, Global Warming, Natural Disasters, Ecosystems, Green Living - National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2012. ."Acid Rain Information Page - by EHSO.

" EHSO - Environmental Health & Safety Online - Free EHS Guidance Contents Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2012. ."Acid Rain Students Site: What is acid rain?." US Environmental Protection Agency. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2012. ."Acid Rain | US EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2012. ."What is Acid Rain and What Causes It?." Almanac of Policy Issues. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2012. .