Acid Rain has been effecting the environment in a negative way for quite some time. Over the years, scientists have watched some forests grow more slowly without knowing why. The trees in these forests do not grow as quickly as usual and leaves would turn brown and fall off when they should have been green and healthy.
People believe that acid rain could be responsible for the slower growth of these forests. Some areas that receive acid rain show a lot of damage, but other areas that receive close to the same amount of acid rain and are not affected at all. However, after many years of collecting information on the chemistry and biology of forests, scientists are beginning to understand how acid rain works on the forest soil, trees, and other plants.
Acid rain eats away at stone, metal, paint and almost any material exposed to the weather for a long period of time. Man made materials gradually deteriorate even when exposed to unpolluted rain, but acid rain accelerates the process. Acid rain can cause things like marble statues that were carved long ago to lose their features.
Acid rain has the same effect on buildings and monuments. Repairing acid rain damage to houses, buildings, and monuments can cost billions of dollars. Ancient monuments and buildings, such as the Parthenon in Greece, can never be replaced.
Acid rain became known to the media during the 1980s. Even though during the 1970s many countries started to notice changes in fish populations in lakes and damage to trees. By the late 1970s people started to look for the causes and effects that transport of air pollutants had on the world.
During the 1980s there was a lot of scientists doing research in Europe and North America. During the 1980s and 1990s there started to be a reduction in sulphur dioxide emissions in many countries.
Acid rain doesn’t necessarily have to be “rain.” The term includes not only rain, but also snow, hail, and fog. Sulphur and nitrogen, can cause precipitation to...