Acid Rain is Destroying Our World

Acid rain causes increasing, almost irreversible damage to the global environment every year and no country is immune to its effects. Bodies of water, plant life, animals, building structures, and historical monuments on the east coast of the United States and Canada, as well as European countries such as Germany, Norway, and Great Britain are among some of those affected by acidic rainfall. To understand the issues surrounding acid rain one must first understand how acid rain is formed, what it is formed from, as well as the problems it causes to our ecological environment. This paper will discuss these issues as well as some possible solutions to this wide spread problem.

One of the most important things to understand when discussing acid rain is how to interpret what is considered acidic and what is not. Acidity in liquids is determined by their pH levels and is measured on a pH scale ranging from zero to fourteen. Liquids containing a pH level that is less than seven are considered acidic, likewise, liquids with a pH level that is higher than seven are considered basic (also known as alkaline). According to Alters and Alters (2007) healthy environmental precipitation occurs at "slightly acidic" levels, approximately 5.7 pH. Acid rain is considered to fall between the pH levels of 3.5 and 5.5, although more drastic levels of acidic rain have been measured in certain parts of the United States (748). In other words, acid rain is usually somewhere around the same acid content as coffee or orange juice.