Acid Rain: The Killer Rain
Twanda Banks
Grantham University
April 5, 2011
Abstract
Every time you turn on the television or take a ride in a car, you could be contributing to a problem called acid rain. Acid Rain is a serious problem with devastating effects. Every day this problem increases. Many believe that this issue is too small to deal with, but if the acid rain problem is not met with head on, the effects on people, plants, animals, and the economy will only worsen. In the following paragraphs you will learn what acid rain is, the effect it has on human life, animals, the economy, the economic costs, and what is being done to help to stop this problem. This topic is very important because acid rain affects everyone everywhere all over the world.
Acid Rain: The Killer Rain
Within this past century, acidity of the air and acid rain has become recognized as one of the leading threats to our planet's environment. No longer limited by geographic boundaries, acid causing emissions are causing problems all over the world. Some laws have been passed which limit the amount of pollutants that are released into the air, but tougher legislation must be implemented before this problem can be overcome.
Rain is one of the most vital elements for human and animal life. The water provided by rain allows all life on Earth to survive. Although rain is naturally acidic, it is being increasingly acidified by pollution from homes, factories, power stations and cars. The term used to describe this problem is “acid rain”. Acid rain hasn’t just occurred in the last twenty to thirty years. In fact a chemist named Robert Smith found rainfall in Manchester, U.K., to be very acidic. This was over 100 years ago (Wikipedia, n.d.).
Some air pollution as a matter of fact comes from natural sources, but most is human made. The burning of oil and coal by plants and factories, homes and cars, is the main source of chemicals that cause