Acid Rain
What is it? How can we help it?
What is acid rain?
Acid rain is the term used to describe air pollutants that cause water and soil to become more acidic. In turn this can harm plants and animals that depend upon these elements for survival. Acid Rain, or more precisely acid precipitation, is the word used to describe rainfall that has a pH level of less than 5.6 in the form of acid snow, acid dew, acid fog, acid frost, acid hail and acid dust.
Acid rain is a type of acid deposition, which can appear in many forms such wet and dry deposition. Wet deposition is rain, sleet, snow, or fog that has become more acidic than normal while dry deposition is when gases and dust particles become acidic.
It occurs due to natural and human activities. Natural activities may be erupting volcanoes, rotting vegetation and sea sprays. Apart from this, burning of fossil fuels, running of factories and automobiles due to human activities are few other reasons behind this activity.
Formation of Acid Rain
Chemical Equations
Formation of Nitrogen Dioxide: N2(g) + 2O2(g) -> 2NO2(g)
Both sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide are acidic oxides and react with water to form acids.
Sulfur dioxide reacts with water to form sulfurous acid.
SO2(g) + H2O(l) -> H2SO3(aq)
Substances in the upper atmosphere then catalyse the reaction between sulfurous acid and oxygen to form sulfuric acid.
2H2SO3(aq) + O2(g) -> 2H2SO4(aq)
Similarly, nitrogen dioxide reacts with water to form a mixture of nitric acid and nitrous acid.
2NO2(g) + H2O(l) -> HNO3(aq) + HNO2(aq)
Substances in the atmosphere then catalyse the reaction between nitrous acid and oxygen causing the formation of more nitric acid.
2HNO2(aq) + O2(g) -> 2HNO3(aq)
Both sulfuric acid and nitric acid are soluble in water and are the major acids present in acid rain. As this forms and falls onto the Earth's surface, these strong acids are also brought to the surface causing harmful effects on the built and the natural environment.
Efforts to reduce the occurrence of Acid Rain
Energy Conservation
The biggest step that you can take to prevent acid rain is to decrease your energy consumption.
- Whenever you're not using an electrical appliance, simply shut it off or turn off to conserve energy.
- Use your air conditioning only when you really need it. Otherwise, you can use fans to cool down.
- Some appliances are much more energy-efficient than others. Consider replacing your light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs that use 2/3rds less energy than standard bulbs.
- Look for electronics that have a received an Energy Star label. This label guarantees that the appliances you buy--like computers, TVs, refrigerators, and kitchen appliances--are energy efficient.
Transportation
As cars and trucks are a major contributor to acid rain pollution, it's important to find alternate modes of transportation in an effort to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels. By using public transit, carpools, bikes and even your feet, you're helping reduce auto emissions. Avoid using your car whenever possible and use public transportation more. You can also buy low emissions vehicles which are cars that produce less pollution and are better for the environment
Alternative energy sources
An excellent way to reduce acid rain is to stop using non-renewable fuels energy and switch over to renewable sources of energy, such as solar, wind and water energy.
Renewable energy sources help reduce acid rain because they produce much less pollution and can be used to power machinery and produce electricity
As the technology for these alternative energies increases, they will become more accessible to the public. Try using solar powered heating systems and battery-powered cars to do your part for the environment.