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When
talking about acid rain, the old adage applies--what goes up must come down. This section explores acid
rain, an example of a difficult environmental issue facing the United States
and Canada. By focusing on this complex environmental concern,
the lesson reveals why it is so important for governments to work together
and be aware of how their actions affect the quality of life of others.
Acid
rain is rain, snow, hail, fog, dust, or soot containing high levels of acid. Pollutants that are transferred from the air
into the Lakes are responsible for harming the quality of the water in the
Lakes, as well as the health of the plants and animals that call the Great
Lakes home. But acid rain isn't just
a regional problem; it is a global problem and there is little worldwide agreement
on how to tackle it. Neither the United
States nor Canada can combat acid rain alone. It is carried across national frontiers and often affects distant
places more strongly than where it is produced. Solving the acid rain problem requires and understanding of the consequences
of our actions in the United States and Canada, and the necessity of cooperating
in the search for a solution.
With
the issue of acid rain, attention is drawn to the Great Lakes Basin. This is because many "smokestack"
industries are located in a and near the Basin, and many people believe that
the pollution from these industries contributes to the acid rain problem in
Ontario, eastern Canada and northeastern United States.
Many Canadians get upset with the United States because so much of
the pollution coming from industry in the Untied States blows with the wind,
sometimes ending up in Canada.
There
are no simple solutions to this problem. Cost,
economics, and available technologies are all issues at stake. Most leaders anticipate that stopping acid rain
will be costly. Many dollars will have
to be spent to change the way fuels are burned and how other industrial processes
are used to make the goods and services on which our society depends. Because so much of the industry is located on
the United States side of the Lakes, some Great Lakes states are nervous that
they will be responsible for much of the cost.
Long
term solutions to the acid rain problem include instituting strict air quality
legislation, developing technologies to help fuels burn more cleanly, and
filtering gases before they enter the atmosphere.
Individuals can contribute to solving the acid rain problem by instituting
recycling programs, using public transportation, and turning off appliances
to cut down on energy consumption.
About
Acid Rain The majority of acid rain results from fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gases burned in industry, electrical power plants, and motor vehicles. Once in the atmosphere, these pollutants combine with moisture and interact with sunlight to form sulfuric acid and nitric acid. Tall factory smoke stacks discharge pollutants high into the atmosphere where winds carry the acids for hundreds of miles. Eventually the acids fall back to the earth in the form of rain, snow, or dust. Factors influencing how fare acid rain travels include wind speed, wind direction, and cloud chemistry. The
effects
of acid rain include:
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