Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Pollution Prevention

Acid rain is a problem that has plagued earth for years. It is poisoning our waters, animals, plants, soil, and more. It is a problem that cannot be ignored or it might have catastrophic results on our environment. Acid rain is caused by air pollution, which is due to man-made actions. Scientists have discovered that air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels is the major cause of acid rain.Power plants and factories burn coal and oil, which is used to produce the electricity we need to heat and light our homes and to run our electric appliances. We also burn natural gas, coal, and oil to heat our homes, and our cars, trucks, boats, and airplanes use gasoline to run, which is another fossil fuel. The smoke and fumes from burning fossil fuels rise into the atmosphere and combine with the moisture in the air to form acid rain. The main chemicals in air pollution that create acid rain are sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Acid rain usually forms high in the clouds where sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides react with water, oxygen, and oxidants. This forms a mild solution of sulfuric acid and nitric acid. Sunlight then increases the rate of these reactions. Rainwater,





Some new cars run on electricity, but not completely. We need to pay attention to what we dump into the Earth. Winter smogs are caused by temperature inversions which trap particulates close to the ground. It still runs on oil and contributes to forming more dangerous forms of pollution, acid rain. Some health problems come from the exhaust fumes leaking into the interior of the automobile. The small particles cause chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, emphysema and lung cancer. In all cases in which adverse health effects have been noted the elderly patients have been affected severely" (Hodges 60). One popular example occurred in London, England in the year 1952. Not only does ocean dumping add to the unsightliness of the once beautiful and pristine waters; it also kills the marine life which inhabits those waters. Acid rain does not only drop dangerously high levels of acid into the ground directly affecting wildlife. com/Reports/Science/ - Air Pollution-1375- Air Pollution-1379-http://www. There are numerous cases displaying the grave danger of particulate air pollution.

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