Acid Rain
Maintaining Biodiversity and Ecosystems
The Problem of Acid Rain
Acid rain is acidic deposits falling from the sky as precipitation. It is made by burning fossil fuels. The acids made are caught in clouds and come down in precipitation. This causes high amounts of acidic impurities in many things, such as water and soil.
When acid rains get in the water with life, it drops PH levels, hurting the fish and other living organisms.
Also, soil with acid rain will slowly lose its nutrients, and this will harm plants.
Acid rain particles can find their way into human lungs and cause diseases in children. It also harms other people, like those with a history of heart disease and pregnant women.
Examples
In the 1950s, there was a sudden decrease in the population of North American black duck. This is explained by acid rain getting into the snails' shell and looses it's calcium. The eggs get defected.
Acid rain also causes damage to buildings and property.In 1993, the EPA, the Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the Army Corps of Engineers did a study on this damage, and found that an estimated $5 billion dollars was spent on repairs in a seventeen state region.
Solutions
Clean Air Act of 1970
The United States has taken action to the problem of pollution of all areas, including acid rain. One of the ways they try to stop pollution is through the Clean Air Act, which restricts the amounts of waste that manufacturers can let out into the world and force furl producers to develop clean burning fuels. This helps because less acids get into the air, and less acid rain.
Catalytic Converters
The US also made it mandatory for cars to have catalytic converters. What these devices do is it reduces the amount of exhaust pollutants coming from the car and into the air. This helps because less pollutants and acids get into the air that form acid rain, so less of it is produced.
Which One I Think is Better
I think that the Clean Air Act is better because it goes throughout every kind of pollutant producer in America, besides cows. Even though I could imagine that it could be expensive for the companies to handle, I think that they can do it.