Acid Rain in our World

Essay by knacker5000University, Bachelor'sB+, June 2004

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Acid Rain in Our World

Acid rain has been represented in many fictional movies and cartoons as literal acid descending from the sky and burning everything below it. Although it may not burn everything on contact, the damage it causes does affect many living animals and plants. Acid rain indirectly causes harm to our human species, since we eat these animals and plants. It is not only a problem in America, but all over the globe, making it a situation for everyone to be concerned about.

Acid rain is defined as: rain containing acids that form in the atmosphere when industrial gas emissions combine with water. The problem of acid rain is not new. It has been around for several centuries. The majority of acid rain pollution ran be related back to the many factories that were built during the Industrial Revolution. Today, the emissions produced by these factories are the main contributor to the increasing acid rain problem.

It was not until the mid 1800s however, that acid rain began to be studied and questioned (http://ks.essortment.com/acidraineffect_rqmz.htm 1). Acid rain has become more of a concern since the mid 1900s, when fishermen began to notice the reduction of the fish population in their local streams and rivers. Dead fish also began appearing on the banks of rivers. As time went on, the dying fish population became more evident as many lakes were completely wiped out of fish. These tragedies led scientists to search for a reason and a solution to the problem of dying fish. As scientists began to explore various lakes they found dead fish by the thousands on the shores, and even more at the bottom of the lakes and rivers. Scientists took fish that were alive and dead to laboratories to perform tests to see what could...