What Effect Does Acid Rain Have on Our Community?

There are several answers to the effect of acid rain on our community- and none of the effects are good ones.

The chemicals of acid rain work their way into the environment when they fall – this only makes sense, since precipitation is the way in which ground water forms. Acid rain in the precipitation means there are multiple ways in which it can cause serious damage.

Effects of Direct Contact

Direct contact, of course, can kill plant life depending on the plant’s sensitivity to acid. The main problem, however, is that acid rain works its way into the soil and the water, thus poisoning a much wider range.

Effects on Organisms

Acid rain in the water can also wipe out entire species of organisms. Fish and other life forms in the water are extremely susceptible to acid rain.

Acid rain is a much larger problem than people might realize, simply due to the way that rain, as our natural water source, makes its way into contact with so many different forms of life. Imagine what might happen if a bird existed solely on one type of fish, which is then wiped out by acid rain. That bird, with nothing to eat, may eventually die out. It’s just the first step of what can be an amazingly destructive chain reaction.

One of the major environmental concerns facing the world today, acid rain is thus incredibly destructive in a wide variety of ways and acid rain has a number of negative effects on the community.

Where Acid Rain Comes From

In order to understand the impact of acid rain and what effect acid rain has on the community, it’s also important to understand what it is, and what causes it.

Technically, the definition of acid rain is somewhat general; it’s the term given to any form of precipitation that contains high levels of chemicals caused by pollution.

Ingredients of Acid Rain

Earth’s pollution contains two specific ingredients – nitrate and sulfur – that are the main culprits of acid rain. Nitric and sulfuric acids are caused by the burning of fossil fuels; they can sometimes come from natural sources such as volcano eruptions, but human pollution is overwhelmingly the main driving force.

When sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released by the burning fossil fuels (which power everything from electricity to cars), the two gases float into the atmosphere. The problem occurs when they come into contact with water and oxygen, both of which exist in abundance; the contact activates mild acids, which fall to the earth as acid rain.

Impact of Acid Rain on Our Community

The damage that can come from acid rain is often underestimated and the effect of acid rain on the community is not always clear apparently. In reality, acid rain is certainly just one of many major environmental issues facing the world today, but it’s a serious issue that should be addressed.