Social and Environmental Issues: Acid Rain by Coco Lim

What are the primary causes of Acid Rain? Acid Rain is caused by sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Most sulfur dioxide comes from powerplants that use coal as their fuel. These plants emit 100million tons of sulfur dioxide, 70% of that in the world.

Automobiles produce about half of the world's nitrogen oxide. As the number of automobiles in use increases, so does the amount of Acid Rain. Power plants that burn fossil fuel also contribute significantly to nitrogen oxide emission. Though human causes are primarily responsible for Acid Rain, natural causes exists as well. Fires , volcanic eruptions, bacterial decomposition and lightning also greatly increase the amount of nitrogen oxide on the planet. However even the gigantic explosion of Mt. St. Helen's released only about what one coal power plant emits in a year. Once the tiny pollutant molecules have entered the atmosphere, they can travel for thousands of miles.

Eventually the particles will combine with other compounds to produce new, often harmful chemicals. Acid Rain comes down to earth in the form of rain, snow, hail. fog, frost or dew. Once it reaches the ground, the acidity in the substance can harm and even destroy both natural ecosystems and man-made products, such as car finishes.

What's being done?

Because of these problems and the adverse effects air pollution has on human health, a number of steps are being taken to reduce sulfur and nitrogen emissions. Most notably, many governments are now requiring energy producers to clean smoke stacks by using scrubbers which trap pollutants before they are released into the atmosphere and catalytic converters in cars to reduce their emissions. Additionally, alternative energy sources are gaining more prominence today and funding is being given to the restoration of ecosystems damaged by Acid Rain worldwide.