Environmental Effects Of Acid Rain During The Industrial Revolution

Acid rain wasn’t an environmental problem until the burning of fossil fuels during the industrial revolution. Sometimes acid rain comes naturally, but sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide released from smokestacks combine with rain to make a sulfuric and acidic acid in big amounts that are harming the environment. A region most affected by acid rain in the U.S. is the East Coast, Appalachian Mountains, and the Northeast. The National Surface Water Survey found that the acid rain caused 75% of acidity in lakes and 50% in streams. The greatest acidity occurred on the Atlantic Ocean where the water usually has more acidity to begin with. The highest amount of stream acidity occurred in the New Jersey Pine Barrens region with over 90%. One of the most acidic conditions occurred in Little Echo Pond in Franklin, New York with a pH of 4.2.

Trees don’t usually die right away, but they are weakened and are more affected by pathogens, insects, drought, and/or extreme cold. Acid rain releases a toxic chemical such as aluminum that goes into the soil. These are really harmful to trees and plants, even if there wasn’t much contact between them. All the toxic substances wash away and go into the nearby streams, rivers, and lakes. When the rainfall is cleaner, fewer substances are released. During the 1970’s people started realizing the importance of measuring acid rainfall. There is a special scale used to measure acidity called “pH”. The lower the pH number, the more acid there is. Acid rain is a human-related experience. Sometimes, the environment adapts to the acid rain. For example, locations where there is a big amount of lime in the soil, the soil will have no problem with the acid rain. However, in locations where there is no way to replace the acid rain, the acids cause a lot of