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Acid Rain

Acid rain is a great problem in our world. Not only is it harmful to our environment, but it also causes harm to our own race as well. One of the main causes of acid rain is the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, gasoline and fuel oils. These fuels send oxides of sulfur, carbon and nitrogen into the air. These oxides combine with moisture in the air to form sulfuric acid, carbonic acid and nitric acid. Therefore, when it rains or snows, these acids are brought to Earth in what is called acid precipitation. Consequently, acid rain damages plants, animals, soil, water, building materials, and it has a negative effect on people as well.
The two most important primary sources of acid rain are sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen. Sulfur is a colorless, pungent gas produced during the combustion of fossil fuels. A variety of industrial processes such as the production of steel and iron and crude oil produce this gas. This gas is also emitted into the atmosphere by natural means. Ten percent of the sulfur in the atmosphere comes from volcanoes, sea spray, plankton and decomposing vegetation. The other gas primarily accountable for the formation of acid rain is nitrogen oxide. The term ‘oxides of nitrogen’ describes any compound of nitrogen with any amount of oxygen atoms. The only oxides of nitrogen are nitrogen monoxide and nitrogen dioxide. These gases are produced by firing processes at very high temperatures (vehicle) and chemical industries. There are natural processes such as forest fires, volcanoes and bacterial action in soil that also emit nitrogen oxides. Transportation and industrial combustion also contribute to the emissions of nitrogen oxides. The acidity of acid rain does not only depend on the release levels of these gases but also on the chemical combination sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides interrelated in the atmosphere. However, both gases undergo a few chemical reactions before they become the acids present in acid rain. (Klaassen 245-260)...