What is Acid Rain
Acid rain is a term that is any form of precipitation with acidic components, such as sulfuric or nitric acid that fall to the ground from the atmosphere in wet or dry forms. This can be rain, snow, fog, hail or even dust that is acidic.
How is Acid Rain Formed
Acid rain forms when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the atmosphere and are carried by wind and air currents. In the sky the sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides mix with the water, oxygen, and other minerals, which then cause the formation of sulfuric and nitric acids. Then these minerals mix with water again before falling from the sky.
What Causes Acid Rain
Acid rain is caused when acidic pollutants are released into the atmosphere. Only a small part of these pollutants come from natural sources, like volcanoes, but most of it comes from burning fossil fuels. Some major sources come from:
-Burning fossil fuels to create energy. This is 2/3 sulfur dioxide and 1/4 nitrogen oxide!
-Vehicles and heavy equipment
-Manufacturing, oil refineries and other industries
**Winds and air currents can cause sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide to get blown over long distances which makes acid rain a hazard for everyone, not just those who live close to the sources**
Problems Caused by Acid Rain
-Air Pollution, which could lead to respiratory diseases and make asthma and chronic bronchitis worse
-Health Problems, when the little particles get into peoples lungs they can cause major health problems or make existing ones worse
What is Being Done to Help Prevent Acid Rain
-Clean Air Act Amendment of 1990: Allowed EPA to start Acid Rain Program which limits the amount of pollutants power plants can release into the air
-Other Sources of Energy: Power plants are beginning to use renewable energy sources other then fossil fuels
-Cleaner Cars: Car manufactures are required to reduce the amount of pollutants released by cars
What I Learned
I learned that acid rain is a very harmful to the environment and it can cause many health problems. I also learned that there are many ways that the government, power plants, and manufacturers are helping reduce the release of pollutants to help prevent acid rain.
Citations
"Why is Acid Rain Harmful." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 11 May 2017.
"What is Being Done." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 11 May 2017.
What is Acid Rain?" EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 01 Mar. 2017. Web. 11 May 2017.
Picture: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Origins_of_acid_rain.svg/350px-Origins_of_acid_rain.svg.png
By: Kayla Stissel
Picture: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Origins_of_acid_rain.svg/350px-Origins_of_acid_rain.svg.png
By: Kayla Stissel
Your blog is really well put together and easy to understand. What you learned is important because you now know how acid rain is harmful to the environment and how people are trying to stop acid rain. I think you could have included how many people (percentage) are being affected by acid rain.
ReplyDeleteI think each section provided just enough information without providing too much information or too little. I would say that the people and the government are probably the most crucial in changing the environment because we have the greatest effect in such a little way. I would add a little bit more visuals with under certain subheadings.
ReplyDeleteI think that educating us about acid rain is very important because it shows us how us as humans can really affect the environment, I also appreciate how you put in what can and is being done to help. Based off of your reflection do you feel any different about the burning of fossil fuels and larger manufacturing companies? I think that you could've added that acid rain doesn't taste or smell any different than normal rain, and it also won't rot your skin but thats it, I really liked your post!
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DeleteThanks for reading my post and thanks for the positive feedback! To answer your question, I feel that the burning of fossil fuels and large manufacturing companies should have many regulations to stop the pollution they put into the air. They do cause many other problems other then acid rain which are harming the environment as well.
DeleteYour blog is not bad, I probably would have done Worse. You could have added what specific type of health problems. Other than that you seemed to know a lot about this topic considering you didn't use a lot of citations. Did you know about this topic before the project.
ReplyDeleteyour blog is VERY well organized. It is important that you learned how harmful acid rain can be to the environment and it is also important that we know the pollution is the cause of this problem. Something I would like to add, acid rain is more heavy in places like Japan where there are a lot more people and transport.
ReplyDelete