Acid Rain and You

It is disappointing to travel to a place of history, such as Arlington Cemetery, and noticed the tombstones are deteriorating. How about planning a fishing trip to a lake with your kids and there is a sign that says “No Fishing, high mercury.” Oh yeah, and don’t forget for some reason you keep coughing during those trips. Although the combustion of fossil fuels is necessary to provide power that drives our society and industries, it could also present the problem of acid rain. Because of acid rain contamination, our aquatic life, human life and our manmade structures can be affected.

Contamination begins with the development of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from the burning of fossil fuels. Once these chemicals combine with the moisture in the air, you get acid rain. Some of the sources of this contamination begin with coal burning factories, cars and oil burning. Natural causes could be forest fires and volcanic eruptions. All living things, whether they are plants or animals, whether they live on land or in the water or even in trees, are affected directly or indirectly by acid rain. The acid rain not only affects the United States, it can be carried overseas by the weather.

When acid rain occurs it causes harmful elements like mercury and aluminum to be leaked from the soil and rocks, then it is carried into the streams, rivers and lakes where aquatic life can be affected. Fish can be poisoned by mercury and then could die. The reproduction of the fish can be affected when fish lay their eggs, the eggs come in contact with the acid and an entire generation can be destroyed. Also, it can cause the fish not to grow as big and they will be less capable of competing for their food and protecting themselves, which could cause extinction.
Acid rain also has affects human life in various ways. I talked about fish being poisoned with mercury, what if we ate fish with a high level of mercury? How do we know if a fish has a high level of mercury? You don’t, unless a sign is posted at the lake you’re fishing in or you have contacted your local Fish and Game office.

Acid rain can also have an adverse effect on people; coughing, headaches, dry eyes, allergies and it can also irritate your liver. People that live in California are introduced to acid rain every day, because of smog.

Manmade structures are expected to deteriate over time, but when these structures are exposed to acid rain, deterioration can happen much quicker. This includes buildings, statues and other structures that contain stone, metal or other material when exposed to the weather for a long period of time. Think about all the historical buildings in our country, how about all the monuments and statues that have been constructed, over time, these to can become deteriorated. Have you ever walked through an old cemetery and noticed how the tombstones look “aged”? It can cost billions of dollars to repair a structure, unfortunately some unique structures may never be able to be repaired or replaced.

Acid rain is a big problem, but it is controllable. There are many ways that humans can help with the effects of acid rain. People can start to carpool, walk more and use less electricity. One way companies that are burning coal for power can help is by washing the coal before they burn it. Although, normal people can help change the affects of acid rain at no financial cost to them, are companies willing to put out the expense of buying the new technology, taking steps to reduce the way they burn fossil fuels and follow the government guidelines.

In conclusion, acid rain does have a large impact on our environment. The two primary sources of acid rain are sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. Cars are the main source of nitrogen oxide and factories are the main reason for sulfur dioxide. When these acids fall back to earth, it not only causes problems for the environment but also, human life, aquatic life and manmade structures. Government agencies need to invest money in finding alternate ways to burn fossil fuels, enforce utilization windmills and solar power. The Government has passed laws to help reduce emissions of these acids, but unless people start working together, we will eventually destroy ourselves.

PRNewswire-USNewswire; 9/20/2007; 615 words;
http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/effects/surface_water.html
www.cleartheair.org