How is acid rain bad for the environment?

Answer 1

Acid rain affects the environment in several ways:

• It can leach nutrients from the soil making then unavailable to plant life.
• It an affect the growth of plants as many plants have a specific soil pH for optimum growth
• Acid precipitation can change the ionic balance in clayey soils affecting their structure.
• In some soils acid precipitation may free up metals (e.g. lead) in the soil that can be taken up by the plants and contaminate the associated seeds or fruit.
• It can affect fish and amphibians by reducing the pH of the water impacting their health and breeding success

This list does not include secondary effects like the reduction of predator's prey caused by the reduction of fish numbers.
Acid rain is very harmful to the environment. Acid rain damages everything over a period of time because it makes the living things in the environment die. Acid rain affects the life in the water as well as the life on land. It is almost worse in water than on land because the fish that are in the water need the water to breathe. When the water gets polluted, then the fish get sick and end up dying.

Answer 2

Acid rain is a big deal and as people we really need to do something about it!. We can help by not smoking and chemicals going into the air.

It wears/ erodes away statues and buildings. It also effects our crops and plants.

Acid rain can damage soil by destroying many vital substances and washing away the nutrients. Soils naturally contain small amounts of poisonous minerals such as Mercury and aluminium. Normally these minerals do not cause serious problems, but when acid rain falls on the ground and the acidity of the soil increases, chemical reactions occur allowing the poisonous minerals to be taken up by the plant roots. The trees and plants are then damaged and any animals eating them will absorb the poisons, which will stay in their bodies.

The acid takes important minerals away from the leaves and the soil. Without these minerals, trees and plants cannot grow properly. Damaged trees lose their leaves, have stunted growth and damaged bark. This makes it easier for fungi and insects to attack the tree, and as a result the tree may die.

As the lake becomes more acidic the fish find it more difficult to reproduce successfully. It is not only the acid in the water that kills them, but also poisonous minerals like aluminium that are washed out of the surrounding ground into the water. The birds that eat the fish also begin to suffer as the harmful minerals build up inside their bodies.

When sulphur pollutants fall on to buildings made from limestone and sandstone they react with minerals in the stone to form a powdery substance that can be washed away by rain. Famous buildings like the Statue of Liberty in New York, the Taj Mahal in India and St. Paul's Cathedral in London have all been damaged by this sort of air pollution.

Acid rain can also damage stained glass windows in churches, railway lines and steel bridges. The acid rain slowly eats away them all. Building materials crumble away, metals are corroded, the colour of paint is spoiled, leather is weakened and crusts form on the surface of glass.

When we breath in air pollution, the very fine particulates can easily enter our lungs, where they can cause breathing problems, and over time even lead to cancer. Drinking water is contaminated with chemicals released by acid rain. Aluminium and lead in water can be poisonous at high levels.

Source :

http://library.thinkquest.org/C007231/effect1.htm

Answer 3

cid Rain Can Cause Health Problems in People
Air pollution like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides can cause respiratory diseases, or can make these diseases worse. Respiratory diseases like Asthma or chronic bronchitis make it hard for people to breathe. The pollution that causes acid rain can also create tiny particles. When these particles get into people's lungs, they can cause health problems, or can make existing health problems worse. Also, nitrogen oxides cause ground-level ozone. This ground-level ozone causes respiratory problems, like pneumonia and bronchitis, and can even cause permanent lung damage. The health effects that people have to worry about are not caused by the acid rain, but are caused when people breathe in these tiny particles or ozone. Swimming in an acidic lake or walking in an acidic puddle is no more harmful to people than swimming or walking in clean water.

Acid Rain Harms Forests
Acid rain can be extremely harmful to forests. Acid rain that seeps into the ground can dissolve nutrients, such as magnesium and calcium, that trees need to be healthy. Acid rain also causes aluminum to be released into the soil, which makes it difficult for trees to take up water. Trees that are located in mountainous regions at higher elevations, such as spruce or fir trees, are at greater risk because they are exposed to acidic clouds and fog, which contain greater amounts of acid than rain or snow. The acidic clouds and fog strip important nutrients from their leaves and needles. This loss of nutrients makes it easier for infections, insects, and cold weather to damage trees and forests.

Acid Rain Damages Lakes and Streams
Without pollution or acid rain, most lakes and streams would have a pH level near 6.5. Acid rain, however, has caused many lakes and streams in the northeast United States and certain other places to have much lower pH levels. In addition, aluminum that is released into the soil eventually ends up in lakes and streams. Unfortunately, this increase in acidity and aluminum levels can be deadly to aquatic wildlife, including phytoplankton, mayflies, rainbow trout, small mouth bass, frogs, spotted salamanders, crayfish, and other creatures that are part of the food web.

This problem can become much worse during heavy downpours of rain or when the snow begins to melt in the spring. These types of events are known as episodic acidification.

Acid Rain Damages Buildings and Objects
Acid rain can also have a damaging effect on many objects, including buildings, statues, monuments, and cars. The chemicals found in acid rain can cause paint to peel and stone statues to begin to appear old and worn down, which reduces their value and beauty.

Answer 4

the acid affects living things, as well as buildings. acids eat through stuff if they are acidic enough. They will burn through plants and into the ground into the roots killing the plants.

Answer 5

Acid rain affect the ecosystem by reforming the way the animals live.This can happen by the cars and factory's fumes. And it can EFFECT by hurting things

Answer 6

cars and factories emmit CO2 and goes up in the atmosphere and causes rain to become acidic. killing trees, plants, etc in its path.

Answer 7

it kills animals because of the food chain so most animals get wiped out. it kills loads of plants, which goes back to the animals.

Answer 8

Acid rain erodes statues and buildings, and it can pollute rivers, killing fish. It can also affect wildlife because it decreases the pH of the environment. hope this helps!