Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
¶ … Acid Rain Be Made a Political Issue?
Acid rain spares nothing. Its effects are vast. It affects plants by destroying its roots, causing stunting or even death. Increased acidity in the soil, resulting from acidic rain, causes destruction of its nutrients which dissolve or decay in the acidic medium. Saprophytic microorganisms present are also destroyed. Acid rain falling on leaves dissolves its waxy layer. Damage to this layer makes the plant more prone to diseases and vulnerable to the effects of drying. Germination of seeds and reproduction are also inhibited. Eventually, the plants become weak and are unable to stand adverse climate, such as strong winds and rain. Ultimately, there is wide spread deforestation. ("Effects of Acid," 2007)
(Environmental Statistics, 2007)
The effects of acid rain, causing deforestation, have been observed in many places. Examples include eastside of Penn's state in Norway, trees in Scandinavia, southeastern Canada and northeastern United States. In the graph shown above, countries with a greater area of deforested land also have high sulphur dioxide emission rates. With massive deforestation, the soil loses its ability to hold itself together. Also, with lesser trees available to absorb water, there is massive surface run off causing deposition of silt in rivers and canals. Rivers which were initially protected to a certain degree from acid rain because of the soil's buffering capacity and less surface run off, will eventually also experience its disastrous outcome. ("Effects of acid," 2007)
Acid rain can fall directly on river, lakes and streams or can seep in through the soil. Their average PH is between 6 and 8. The PH decreases progressively as the streams become more and more acidic. In a survey conducted on over one thousand lakes greater than ten acres and on thousands of miles of streams in the United States, about seventy fiver percent of lakes and fifty percent of streams were found to be acidic. The areas corresponding to the acidic lakes and streams were, Adirondaks and Catskill Mountains in New York, the mid Appalachian highlands along the east coast, the upper Midwest and the mountainous regions of Western United States. ("Effects of acid," 2008)
Once the of life underwater. ("Effects of acid," 2008)
If acid rain is not controlled, many disastrous effects can take place. Agriculture crops will be damaged, leading to widespread starvation and deaths. Destruction of famous monuments will also affect the tourism industry. The economic loss due to acid rain is already being experienced in many countries. China has calculated this loss to be sixty billion dollars in China alone. Human health will also be adversely affected. Eventually with increasing amounts of sulphur dioxide emissions, even the healthy will have to move around with oxygen tanks. Many species of plants and animals might be led to, or near extinction. Today, the global average forested land is only around thirty one percent. (Environmental Statistics, 2007). With continued emissions, this may reduce even further, causing loss of many habitats. Accumulated aluminum toxicity may itself have many adverse effects on all life forms. The cumulative effect will be a great fall in biodiversity, both on land and in water.
Most parts of the world do realize the gravity of the problem. Pressure from environmental agencies has also increased. Governments from most part of the world have drawn plans to decrease sulphur dioxide emissions and decrease the adverse effects of acid rain. Lakes with a low PH can be treated with quick lime (an alkali) that neutralizes the acidity. This process is called liming. Quick lime is also added in the soil used for agriculture. However, liming on a large scale is economically unfeasible, therefore, prevention is the best solution. In most parts of the world, laws have been formulated to minimize this threat. For example, the European commission in Europe, has formulated laws regarding the sulphur content in fuels that…
However, against such a backdrop of apparently serious action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which imply widespread changes in energy use, conventional energy still receives the overwhelming share of government support worldwide. Over the last 20 years, some $300 billion in subsidies spent annually on nuclear- and fossil-based power has eclipsed by four times the amount spent on renewable (World Council for Renewable Energy, 2002, p. 8). Moreover, with the Bush Administration's rejection of the Kyoto Protocol in 2001, the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter, the U.S., did not undertake formal commitments for emissions reduction, signaling instead its support for voluntary measures to decrease the greenhouse gas "intensity" of certain industrial sectors (White House, 2005a). The federal government also failed to enact a renewable portfolio standard requiring growing shares of energy over time to be generated from renewable sources, even though such bills were submitted repeatedly to the U.S. Congress (Byrne, Hughes, Rickerson, & Kurdgelashvili, 2007).
More recently, the Obama Administration has taken steps to mandate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions at U.S. power plants, factories, and refineries. Approved by the Energy and Commerce Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives in May2009, proposed legislation -- if ultimately enacted and signed into law -- would target a 17% cut in emissions by 2020 from 2005, and an 83% cut by 2050, supported by a cap-and-trade system (Committee on Energy & Commerce, 2009). Meanwhile, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which became law in February 2009, set aside some $60 billion for clean and alternative energy (White House, 2009a).
With such measures representing relatively recent steps toward energy sustainability at the national level, the last decade has witnessed a growing trend among many U.S. states and cities to fill the policy vacuum left by the federal government (Byrne et al., 2007). As of June 2006, some 29 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia had
Acid Rain Should Acid Rain Be Made a Political Issue? After studying several researches on how acid rain can cause economic losses, I chose a thesis proposal. I collected information from researches conducted in different countries and analyzed data using Microsoft Excel. Acid rain is a problem that does not respect political barriers, thus, making it a global issue. The world's population is currently around 7 billion and is still dramatically increasing. This increase
Public International Law Memorandum for preparation for next year's negotiations for the Conference of the Parties (COP) President XI Jinping of China Preparation for next year's negotiations for the Conference of the Parties (COP) Climate Change - Carbon Emissions Climate change poses one of the most difficult questions to the world today. Cities continue to be the main contributors of this challenge. Most of the greenhouse gases are produced by industries, motorized conveyance, domestic fuel,
Environmental Issues Faced in 21st Century Aviation Reducing Communication and Coordination Tools and Metrics Technology, Operations and Policy Demand Aviation and the Environment Effects on the health Local Air Quality Climate Change Total Climate impacts from aircraft Interdependencies Mobility, Economy and National Security Interactions between Government, Industry and Groups Aviation Greenhouse Gas Emissions Economic Impact SPCC Regulations Local Airport Issues De-icing Fluids A Framework for National Goals Realities and Myths Metrics Recommended Actions Environmental Issues Faced in 21st Century Aviation Environmental awareness in regards to 21st century aviation among the public and politicians has
Environment and the Two Major Political Parties When one thinks of Democrats and Republicans thoughts typically run to images of two diametrically opposed platforms. Yet, despite political ranting, both parties have been concerned for the environment in which we live, for more than 40 years. This paper will look at the two parties, and their basic differences, then examine the history of environmental legislation. From this, an understanding will be brought
From the point-of-view of the variation and flexibility of the species such cultivated woody crops rank as no more than cornfields. While the tree farms are conveniently be stretched on the private lands, national forests those are considered priceless reservoirs of most of the biological diversity of the nation cannot expand so easily. The commercial logging is considered as the greatest danger for survival of the national forest system.
Pollution Strategies Improve Air Quality do not think that today's pollution strategies can improve our air quality. Although we are told by the media that the air quality is getting better, why then do incidence of asthma, cancer, acid rain, global warming, Greenhouse Gas levels and the hole in the ozone layer continue to get worse? Each year both larger conglomerates, smaller industrial companies, industrially strong nations like the