Acid precipitation (rain) is one of the terms that arose as a result of industrialization.
Air pollution and acid precipitation
Today, there is a rapid development of industry: the expenditure of planetary resources, the burning of fuel, as well as the development of environmentally faulty technologies. This in turn leads to air, water and land pollution . One such manifestation is acid precipitation.
The concept of acid "rain" was first mentioned in 1872, however, it gained its relevance only in the second half of the last century. At the moment, acid precipitation is a serious problem for many countries of the world (almost all countries of Europe and the USA). Environmentalists have developed a map of the rains, which clearly depicts areas with a high risk of hazardous rainfall.
Carbon dioxide in the air
Rainwater is characterized by a certain level of acidity. Under normal conditions, this index should correspond to a neutral pH level (from 5.6 - 5.7 and much higher). Slight acidity is the result of carbon dioxide in the air. However, it is so low that it is not able to harm living organisms. It turns out that the causes of acid precipitation are associated with human activities, this can not be explained by natural factors.
Acid precipitation
Acidic precipitate is formed as a result of emissions of large quantities of nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides by enterprises .
Sources of such pollution are thermal power plants, metallurgical production, and automobile exhaust . The purification technology has a very low level of development, which does not allow filtering out nitrogen and sulfur compounds resulting from the combustion of peat, coal and other types of raw materials used in industry. Once in the atmosphere, the oxides combine with water as a result of reactions under the action of sunlight. After that, they fall as rains, they are called "acid precipitation."
The effects of acid precipitation
Scientists claim that acid precipitation is very dangerous for plants, people and animals. The most basic hazards are listed below:
- Such rains significantly increase the acidity of all water bodies, whether it be a river, a pond or a reservoir. As a result of this, the extinction of natural fauna and flora is observed. The ecosystem of water bodies changes, they become clogged, waterlogged, and siltiness increases. After such changes, water is unsuitable for human use. It increases the amount of salts of heavy metals and various toxic mixtures that are absorbed by the microflora of a reservoir in a normal situation.
- These rains are a consequence of the extinction of plants and forest degradation. Coniferous trees get the most. The fact is that they have very slowly renewed leaves, and this does not allow them to recover on their own after acid rain. Young forests are also subject to this process, and their quality is rapidly declining. Excessive sediment mass destroys forests.
- In Europe and the United States, acid rain is the main cause of poor crops, as well as extinction of crops in the fields. The cause of the damage lies not only in the constant exposure to rain, but also in violations of soil mineralization.
- Monuments, various buildings and structures also suffer from acid rain. As a result of this phenomenon, the corrosion process is significantly accelerated, the mechanisms fail.
- In some cases, acid rain can cause irreparable harm to humans and animals. When in areas of increased danger, they begin to worry about diseases of the upper respiratory tract. If this continues, then nitrate and black acid of an excessively high concentration will precipitate in the form of precipitation . At the same time, the threat to human life increases significantly.
Acid Rains
Of course, you won’t go against nature - it’s unrealistic to fight the very rainfall. When precipitated in the fields and other large areas, acid precipitation causes irreparable harm, and there is no reasonable solution to this problem. It is a completely different matter when it is necessary to eliminate not their consequences, but the causes of the appearance. To avoid the formation of acid rain, you need to constantly comply with a number of rules: environmentally friendly and safe road transport, special technologies for cleaning emissions into the atmosphere, new production technologies, alternative sources of energy production and so on.
Humanity is no longer appreciate what he has. We all use the limitless resources of our planet, pollute it and do not want to accept the consequences. But it was human activity that brought the Earth to such a state. This is very dangerous, because if we do not start taking care of our planet, the consequences will become catastrophic.