Acid Rain (0)

Acid Rain
Acid rain is any precipitation that is unusually acidic. It possesses elevated levels of hydrogen ions(it has low pH level). Acid rain is caused by emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which react with water molecules.
Distilled water(doesn’t contain CO2), has pH level 7. Liquids with pH level less than 7 are acidic, liquids with pH level greater than 7 are alkaline. Unpolluted rain has a pH level over 5.7, so it is slightly acidic.
Affected areas
Places significantly impacted by acid rain around the globe include most of eastern Europe from  Poland  northward into Scandinavia, the eastern third of the United States and southeastern  Canada . Other affected areas include the southeastern coast of  China  and  Taiwan
Causes

• It is caused when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the air. In the atmosphere they react with water, oxygen and other chemicals to form more acidic pollutants, known as acid rain. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides dissolve very easily in water and can be carried very far by wind. As a result , the two compounds travel long distances where they become part of the rain, sleet, snow or fog.
  

SO2 and NOx come mainly from power stations and factories burning fossil fuels , or from motor vehicles.

• Carbon dioxide in the air can dissolve in rain water to form carbonic acid, H2CO3
  

CO2 + H2O   H2CO3

• During the last century the rain water in some parts of the world has become far more acidic. This acid rain has been caused by the emission of pollutants gasses such as sulfuric dioxide, when goal is burned in electric power stations, sulfur impurities form sulfur dioxide
  

S + O2   SO2

• The gas is also produced when fuels obtained crude oil are burned. When sulfur dioxide is released into the air it reacts with water and oxygen to form sulfuric acid, which is strong – it ionizes completely to hydrogen ions.
  

H2SO4    2H + SO4-2
Effects
pH range
Effect
6.5–9
No effect
6.0–6.4
Unlikely to be harmful except when carbon dioxide levels are very high (1000 mg I 1)
5.0–5.9
Not especially harmful except when carbon dioxide levels are high (20 mg I 1) or ferric ions are present
4.5–4.9
Harmful to the eggs of salmon and trout species (salmonids) and to adult fish when levels of Ca2, Na and Cl are low
4.0–4.4
Harmful to adult fish of many types which have not been progressively acclimated to low pH
3.5–3.9
Lethal to salmonids, although acclimated roach can survive for longer
3.0–3.4
Most fish are killed within hours at these levels
Environmental effects
Very obvious environmental effect of acid rain is the loss of fish in acid sensitive lakes and streams. Loads of fishes are not able to survive in acidic water. There are 2 ways acid rain effects lakes and streams: chronic and episodic. The first one is long-term process and this acidification is result from years of acidic rainfall. Episodic, on the other hand, is rapid change – sudden jump in the acidity of water.
Acid deposition may influence forest vegetation and soils. It removes soil nutrients such as calcium and magnesium from soils in high elevation forests. Acid rain may also help weaken natural defenses of some trees , making them more vulnerable to some diseases and pests. Acid rain wears away the waxy protective coating of leaves, damaging them and preventing them from being able to photosynthesize properly.
Many animals and insects are sensitive to acidification. Frogs are relatively tolerant of low pH, but the insects upon which they feed are not. Lichens, mosses and fungi are also particularly sensitive to acid deposition.
Acid rain may lead to increases in nitrogen in forests. Nitrogen is important plant nutrient, but it some situations it leads to nitrogen saturation . Nitrates can remove additional calcium and magnesium from the soils.
Social effects
Humans can become seriously ill, even die from the effects of acid rain. One of the major problems caused in a human being is respiratory problems. Many can find it difficult to breathe, especially people who have asthma. Asthma, along with dry coughs, headaches, and throat irritations can be caused by the sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides from acid rain. 
Acid rain can be absorbed by both plants ( through soil and/or direct contact) and animals (from things they eat and/or direct contact). When humans eat these plants or animals, the toxins inside of the things they eat can affect them. It can cause brain damage, kidney problems and even Alzheimer’s disease .
The countries that are producing the majority of the pollutions that causes acid rain are not that badly affected (Germany, Britain , USA). Instead the wind direction means the acid rain falls in the other places (in Europe : Scandinavia, USA; Canada)
Cultural effects
Acid rain and the dry deposition of acidic particles contribute to the corrosion of metals (such as bronze) and the deterioration of paint and stone (such as marble and limestone ). These effects significantly reduce the societal value of buildings, bridges, cultural objects (such as statues, monuments, and tombstones), and cars.
Famous buildings like the Statue of Liberty in New York , the Taj Mahal in India and St. Paul's Cathedral in London have all been damaged by this sort of air pollution.
Acid rain can also damage stained glass windows in churches, railway lines and steel bridges. The acid rain slowly eats away them all. Building materials crumble away, metals are corroded, the colour of paint is spoiled , leather is weakened and crusts form on the surface of glass.
Economic effects
Acid rain causes more acidic water, which might kill the fishes. This would effect the fisherman, who would not get enough money , therefore less money would be spend and economy would be affected.
Acid rain= damaged buildings=claims on insurance = less money for insurance company and there for effecting the economy.
Political effects
Acid rain can cause political tension between countries, good example is Canada and Usa.
The goverment has to make öaws to battle the gasses for example taxing factories for using gasses.
Bad faming= less expore
Solutions

• Clean the smoke coming from smoke stacks on factories using scrubbers
  
• Design cars that make cleaner emissions
  
• Use less fossil fuels, such as coal , for power. The problem is that nuclear power, hydropower and coal are the cheapest forms of enery today. But adcancements in techonologies might change this in the future.
  
• Use more alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power Wind and solar powerstations are expensive to build.
  
• Create goverment regulations such as limiting car and factory emissions When the goverment would limit car emissions, people might strike and civil war might be caused
  
• Restore damaged enviroment. There are some things that people can do to bring back lakes and streams more quickly. Limestone or lime (a naturally occurring basic compound) can be added to acidic lakes to “cancel out” the acidity. This process, called liming, has been used extensively in Norway and Sweden . Tends to be expensive, has to be done repeatedly to keep the water from returning to its acidic condition
  
• Take actions as indivinduals.Like many environmental problems, acid deposition is caused by the cumulative actions of millions of individual people. ( turn off lights when not neede etc)
  

Used material
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_ocr_pre_2011/context_chemistry/acidrainrev1.shtml
http://www.epa.gov/region1/eco/acidrain/enveffects.html
http://www.umac.org/ocp/EnvironmentalEffectsofAcidRain/info.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_rain
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071022013948AAUJ6pI
http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/effects/materials.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/C007231/effect1.ht m
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_does_acid_rain_affect_the_economy
http://www.technokids.com/documents/intermediate/environment-acid-rain-pamphlet.pdf