Acid Rain - Research Paper Example

The Month Acid Rain People’s economic activity in the 20th century caused serious pollution of the planet with various waste products. The air basin, water, and soil in the areas of large industrial centers often contain toxic substances that significantly exceed the permissible level. In the recent decades, environmental contamination and the breakouts of related diseases have become more common. To describe this phenomenon, experts and media began to use the term “environmental crisis” (Mangun and Henning xii). The global environmental crisis is the result of the complex industrial and agricultural activities of modern civilization. It appears to change the characteristics of the environment on a planetary scale; therefore, the global ecological crisis is dangerous to the world’s population. Dealing with global environmental crisis is complicated due to the fact that it requires the cooperative actions of the whole world, rather than the individual actions of the certain country or population group. It needs to minimize the pollution produced by mankind to the levels that the nature can cope with it on its own. Currently, the global environmental crisis consists of two main components: acid rain, the greenhouse effect, pollution with super toxicants, and the ozone holes. In the current paper we are going to discuss the phenomenon of acid rain and its effects on nature and humanity. The term “acid rain” was introduced by Robert Smith, English engineer, in his book Air and Rain: The Beginning of a Chemical Climatology (1872) (Myers 267). Acid rains containing solutes of sulfuric and nitric acids cause serious damage to nature, because soil, water, vegetation, animals, and people become their victims. Gases that are released by burning of fossil fuels, among others, are composed from dioxins of sulfur and nitrogen. Depending on the composition of a certain fuel there may be more or less of these dioxins. Fuel oil and sour coal provide the most saturated sulfur dioxide emissions. Tons of sulfur dioxide emitted into the atmosphere resulting from chemical reactions turn into weak acid solution. In the internal combustion engines and boiler systems, nitrogen and oxygen under high temperatures form the nitrogen oxides. In this respect, energy production is accompanied by oxidation of the environment. Emissions are dispersed over vast areas due to the height of the power plant pipes (Granier, Artaxo, and Reeves 54). The acidity of the water solution is determined by the presence of positively charged hydrogen ions H+ in it and is characterized by the concentration of these ions H+ in the liter of solution. The alkalinity of aqueous solution is determined by the presence of hydroxyl ions OH- and is characterized by a concentration of OH ions. The acidity and alkalinity are interrelated: the increasing of acidity reduces the alkalinity, and vice versa (Myers 161). The solution is neutral if the concentration of hydrogen and hydroxyl ions are equal to 10-7 mol/l each. The latter condition is the characterizing feature of chemically pure water. Consequently, the acidic environment requires a condition when 10-7 < H+. Alkaline environment, in its turn, requires H+ < 10-7. In practice the degree of acidity/alkalinity is expressed with pH (hydrogen index). For example, if in the certain solution the hydrogen ion concentration is 10-5 mol/l, the acidity of the solution will be pH=5. In acidic solutions the level of pH is less than 7 (pH7). The higher the index of pH is, the higher the alkalinity of the solution is (Myers 162). The acidity scale runs from pH=0 (extremely high acidity) to pH=7 (neutral environment), and to pH=14 (very high alkalinity). Pure natural water, particularly rain, in the absence of other pollutants has the slightly acidic level (pH=5.6), because it easily dissolves carbon dioxide to the weak carbonic acid (CO2 + H2O ⇄ H2CO3). Besides carbonic acid, the rain water absorbs the acids formed from sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. In this respect it becomes significantly acidic (Regens and Rycroft 37). Carbonic acid, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide are emitted into the atmosphere as the result of transport and the work of metallurgical and power plants. The pH index of water and soil is constantly changing, but the range of these changes in the inviolate environment is strictly limited. Natural water and soil have buffering capabilities to neutralize some of the acid and preserve the environment. However, the nature’s buffering capacity is not unlimited. The small amounts of phosphate fertilizers can rescue ponds affected by the acid rain. The phosphates reduce the acidity of water and help plankton to absorb nitrates. In addition to this, phosphates in the reasonable amounts have less impact on the chemistry of water (Regens and Rycroft 197). Land and vegetation also suffer greatly from acid rain: it reduces soil productivity; reduces the flow of nutrients; changes the composition of soil microorganisms. Acid rains harm forests enormously. Forests begin to dry at the large areas. The acid increases the aluminum mobility in soil. This metal is toxic for the roots and leads to the further oppression of the leaves and fragility of branches. Such influence is especially dangerous for the pine trees because pine needles are replaced less often than leaves. However, the regeneration of all trees after the influence of acid on roots and tops does not occur. An increasing damage acid rains cause to crops. Acid rains damage the biological tissue of vegetation, change the metabolism in cells, slow down the growth and development of plants, and decrease their resistance to diseases and parasites. As the result, the yield falls (Mellanby 16). Acid rains are not only harmful to the nature; they also destroy monuments, world’s masterpieces of art and architecture. The mixture of calcium oxides (CaO) that marble contains reacts with the solution of sulfuric acid and turns into gypsum (SaSO4). Changes in temperature, wind, and destroy the soft material of the masterpieces. Historical monuments of Ancient Greece and Rome have been recently destroyed right before our eyes. The same fate threatens the Taj Mahal, a masterpiece of Indian architecture. Centuries-old architectural structures of London, Rome, and Amsterdam are exposed to destruction. More than a hundred thousand of valuable stained-glass windows that adorn cathedrals in Canterbury, Cologne, Erfurt, Prague, Bern, and other cities can be completely lost during the next decades (Mellanby 56). People also suffer from acid rains, as they are forced to consume drinking water that is contaminated with toxic metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, etc. As a consequence of this, there arise and aggravate many of the diseases of human respiratory system, premature aging and even death take place (Mellanby 32). Thus, summing all mentioned above, it is worth making certain conclusions. In spite of the postindustrial sound of the term “acid rain”, it is more than a hundred years old. However, today this problem has reached global proportions. Modern chemistry measures the acidity of a solution by index pH. If pH is 7, the solution is neutral; if pH is less than 5,7, the solution is considered acidic. The changes in natural water depend on the emissions of the oxides of sulfur and nitrogen by automobiles and power plants. The higher the concentration of sulfates and nitrates is, the higher the acidity of the rain or snow will be. The acid precipitation influences the acidity of the water in the lakes and other ponds. Plants are also badly affected by acid rain. Saving the environment from acidification is necessary. The latter demands the sharp reduction of emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides. Works Cited Granier, Claire, Paulo Artaxo, and Claire E. Reeves. Emissions of Atmospheric Trace Compounds. Springer, 2004. Print. Mangun, William, and Daniel Henning. Managing the Environmental Crisis: Incorporating Competing Values in Natural Resource Administration. Durham: Duke University Press, 1999. Print. Mellanby, Kenneth. Air Pollution, Acid Rain and the Environment. NY: Elsevier Science Pub., 1988. Print. Myers, Richard. The Basics of Chemistry. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2003. Print. Regens, James, and Robert Rycroft. The Acid Rain Controversy. University of Pittsburgh Pre, 1988. Print. Read More