Get Involved: The Problem of Acid Rain (by Anthony-George D'Andrea)

I was out for the night with friends. Before I entered the subway station to make my way home, darkness had plastered the sky and I anticipated its close ally to begin falling on my head momentarily. Sure enough, the pitter-patter of the rain graced my head just as I stepped into the station. Half an hour later, as I emerged from the station and began the walk home, I quickly realized that the rain had not let up. Seeing no near end, I decided to take one on the chin and run home, drenching myself in the cloud's tears. Finally, I entered my home and sat down for a moment to catch my breath. As I was doubled over on the chair, I could not help but notice a certain smell. This odour was not pleasant, and knowing full well that I had applied the usual body spray, I wondered what it was. As I leaned in closer and sniffed my jeans and shirt, I realized that I did not smell myself, but instead, it was the rain that had soaked me moments earlier.

It was bound to be a matter of time before our polluting actions were to haunt us. Currently we have a reminder every time it rains, as it literally hits us over the head. But how hard does it have to hit, or better yet, how bad does it have to smell, before something is done about it?

Acid deposition is broken down into two parts: wet and dry. Acid rain falls under wet deposition, as does fog and snow, whereas dry deposition involves acids falling from the atmosphere in a dry form. Regardless of its form, wet or dry, pollutants in the air contribute to the rising level of acidity in the rain that falls on earth today. Although precipitation is naturally acidic due to the carbon dioxide in the air, industrialization over the globe provides the falling rain with more than enough acidic ammunition to cause serious harm to the environment on which it is falling on. What heightens the acidity in the precipitation is a combination of both sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.

The major fossil fuels of coal, gas and oil are responsible for filling the air with sulphur dioxide, whereas nitrogen oxides come from the combustion of fuels in cars, residential and commercial furnaces, along with other boilers and engines. Of course, with the growing demand for automobiles, the acidity in the air has risen greatly since the 1950's in North America and Europe, therefore providing their precipitation with a general aura of acidity. This, however, does not mean that only the polluting countries will reap what they sow. With temperature changes and strong winds pushing the airborne toxins over any border, acid rain has quickly become everyone's concern, regardless of who the main pollutants are.

Being an international problem, each country is affected. However, the extent of damage within each country depends on the nature of that country's ecosystems. Each ecosystem has what is called a "critical load". This critical load is, in short, the amount of pollution that a certain ecosystem can handle without being visibly damaged. All ecosystems vary; therefore, they would naturally deal differently with a certain amount of acidity in the atmosphere. In order for an ecosystem to deal well with acid rain, it would have to be strong in alkalinity in order to neutralize the acid from the rain. A pH scale measures the amount of acid in water-like substances. It goes from extremely acidic to neutral and then to extreme alkalinity. There are water and soil terrains that have enough alkaline in order to neutralize the acid, whereas there are granite based ecosystems, for example, which lack the alkaline needed in order to perform a natural neutralization. Despite the fact that we cannot change the way that our ecosystems are built, we do have the ability to control our pollution and put less stress on our deteriorating environment.

Canada, a country whose eastern parts lack the natural alkalinity to neutralize the acid rain, has taken action to prevent any further harm. Through the Eastern Canada Acid Rain program along with the Canada Wide Acid Rain Strategy for Post 2000, between 1980 and 2001, Canada has cut its sulphur dioxide emissions by fifty-percent. Canada has also predicted that from 1990 to 2010, along with a Clean-Air Agreement with the United States of America, the two will cut their nitrogen oxide emissions by thirty-nine percent. These are promising numbers and as such, it is hard for one to be pessimistic about the future of precipitation and our ecosystems. However, despite these declining numbers, ecosystems that have been ravaged by the harshness of acid rain are not quickly and easily restored to their previous beautiful state. It can take many years for this to occur and although there are ways to speed up this process, it can be quite expensive and is often dismissed.

As individuals, at times some might feel as if their actions make no difference in the world. This is not the case when it comes to helping in the reduction of acid rain. An individual can take many actions to aid in the decreasing of acidic precipitation. Simple things such as turning off appliances, computers and lights when you are not using them can aid the struggling ecosystems. Carpooling, walking or taking the bus are also easy ways in which one can do better for the struggling environment. With regard to the measures that are being taken in the world and their promising results, it seems as if the rancid rain has found its mark on enough people's heads. With this in mind, there is hope that soon people will be able to breathe easier when it begins to rain, especially when running in it.

Sources

"Global Warming, Air Quality, Climate Change, Ozone, Weather." Encyclopedia of the Atmospheric Environment. 30 Jul. 2005. <http://www.ace.mmu.ac.uk/eae/english.html>.

"The Green Lane: Acid rain and the facts." Environment Canada. 29 Mar. 2005. 30 Jul. 2005. <http://www.ec.gc.ca/acidrain/acidfact.html>.

"What is Acid Rain and What Causes It?" Almanac of Policy Issues. 30 Jul. 2005. <http://www.policyalmanac.org/environment/archive/acid_rain.shtml>.

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