Acid rain – Another problem with coal and cars
Acid rain formation and deposition (Image source: epa.gov)
Remember acid rain? I know, it’s sooooo 80s. But acid rain, like many things from the 80s (tight jeans, Transformers, blue eye shadow) is still around. I was surprised to find that my hometown, Washington D.C., has some of the highest acid rain levels in the United States. And here I was thinking it was an 80s ‘L.A. thing’.
Anyway, besides damaging forests, contaminating freshwater lakes and streams, poisoning aquatic life, insects and even humans, acid rain is corroding the monuments of the Washington. And this ’simply must not stand’. Check out this video from the Discovery Channel, which shows the effects of acid rain on the American capital’s monuments:
Acid Rain Eating Washington, D.C.
Acid rain means that the ph level (remember 8th grade science class?) of water is reduced due to interaction with air pollutants like sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides. This interaction creates sulfuric and nitric acids. Most acid rain comes from coal plants, but in urban areas the chief source can be road traffic. Basically, acid rain comes from the burning of fossil fuels, which is another good reason to get off them. Cities with lots of traffic and/or coal power plants as well as plenty of rain – like Washington D.C. and many European cities – suffer health risks and architectural damage due to the effects of acid rain.
By Graham Land
Additional resources:
Map of acid rain in Europe (from 1993)
Acid rain wiki
School Net (U.K.) – Acid Rain
ACID RAIN: AND How it Affects the Aquatic Ecosystem
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