Effects on humans and environment by acid rain - Essay Example

Effects of acid rain on the environment and human health Acid rain refers to rain whose water is acidic and it results from acidic gases such as sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen. Nitrogen oxide is emitted from automobiles while sulfur dioxide is a product of factories’ utility. The gases evaporate into the atmosphere and then condense in clouds to form acidic rain. This paper explores effects of acid rain.Acid rain damages the environment and human health. The rain affect humans, indirectly, through the foods they consume and their derived water vapor affects people, directly, when inhaled.

The vapor causes problems in human respiratory systems. Polluted rainfall is also harmful to those who suffer from asthma and those who have breathing difficulty.  It is also proven by scientists that even healthy people can have their lungs destroyed as a result of inhalation of these harmful fapors (Ahmed, 2012; Clark, 2001).Acid rain also affects people and the environment through the soil from which our food is grown. It weakens toxic metals that decomposes and are assimilated into soil.

The toxic metals might then be absorbed by water and consumed by animals or vegetation and consequently affects human health upon consumption. It also has effects on our environment particularly in forests; the deposition of the acid leads to degradation of tree plantations by lowering maturity of trees and other plantations, promoting their susceptibility to natural threats like drought, storms, forest fires and insect infestation. It also results to leaching and depletion of natural nutrients in forest soil that in turn loses valuable nutrients like calcium.

This affects the sensitivity of the soil with time. On surface waters, acid rain minimizes the survivability of animal life in lakes and streams. It might as well eliminate most of the organisms in these water bodies (Ahmed, 2012; Clark, 2001). Acid rain therefore leads to destruction of plants and kills many organisms that live in ponds and other water bodies. It also has adverse effect on human health. This is so because destruction of the environment by acid rain affects our lives as well.

ReferencesAhmed, H. (2012) Principles of Environmental Economics and Sustainability. New York, NY: Routledge.Clark, W. (2001) Learning to Manage Global Environment. New York, NY: MIT Press.