Acid rain is a serious environmental problem that affects many places in the United States. Acid rain damages all bodies of water in particular. Acid rain is polluted rain that occurs when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides mixes with precipitation and undergoes chemical transformations, which increases the acidity of the landmass it lands on. Therefore, it affects the ecosystem where it rains on.

Who suffers from acid rain?

Acid rain causes many effects that harm or kill aquatic creatures, such as fish. Acid rain flows into streams, lakes, marshes, etc. Most lakes have a pH (scale 0-14, 0-7 is acid) of between 6 and 8. Acid rain has a pH of less than 5, which alters the pH of the aquatic habitat. The water and soil sometimes gets poisoned with aluminum from the pH. Both low pH levels and aluminum harm fish. Sometimes in an acidic lake, there is no life at all. Although acid rain does not kill trees, but damages its leaves and its branches. Also, when it falls on the forest floor, it soaks into the soil and harms or kills the animals under it or in it, such as prairie dogs, worms, and rodents. No one can argue that acid rain doesn’t have an affect on the environment.

What is being done to eliminate acid rain? What can you do to help?

There are some ways that are being done to eliminate acid rain. There are many laws used to limit the amount of air pollution. The Clean Air Act Amendment of 1990 is a federal that sets a limit on air pollution in an area. EPA can fine violators that break this law. Parts of The Clean Air Act limit the amount of fumes caused by cars, factories, homes, etc. These permits are issued by the state goverments or the EPA and include information on which pollutants are being released, how much may be released, and what steps are being taken to reduce the pollution. Sources of pollution have to pay for the permits, and the money received helps support state air pollution control activities.

Scientists have found different ways to reduce the amount of sulfur dioxide released from coal-burning power plants. One option is to use coal that contains less sulfur. Another option is to “wash” the coal to remove some of the sulfur. The power plant can also install equipment called scrubbers, which remove the sulfur dioxide from gases leaving the smokestack. Because nitrogen oxides are created in the process of burning coal and other fossil fuels, some power plants are changing the way they burn coal. There is also the car emission “sputter” that, in cars, gives out the emissions in controlled spurts, which gives 90% less fumes then without the “sputter.”

You can:

• Turn off lights, computers, televisions, video games, and other electrical equipment when you’re not using them.
• Buy equipment that uses less electricity, including lights, air conditioners, heaters, and refrigerators.
• Try to limit the use of air conditioning.

There is a lot of pollution. But remember, one person can make a difference.

Source Site:

EPA Site (For Kids)

http://www.epa.gov.html

http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/education/site_students/index.html