Acid Rain Legislation

Title	Acid Rain Legislation
# of Words	771
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	3.08

Acid Rain Legislation

Acid Rain Legislation

     Acid rain is a destructive force as a result of nature and man colliding.
It is formed through harmful industrial emissions combining with contents of
the earth's atmosphere; a dangerous combination.  This prompted governments
throughout North America to take action.  Many laws and regulations have been
implemented, yet the question still remains, "Should tougher legislation be
implemented to force industries to reduce acid rain emissions?"

     To decide whether tougher legislation should be implemented, one must
first understand the details of what exactly acid rain is.  Acid rain is a
result of mankind's carelessness.  It travels a long one of the most efficient
biogeochemical cycles on earth, the Hydrologic Cycle.  This allows acid rain to
distribute itself further away from it's source causing more than local problems.
  Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) is released by fossil fuels when they undergo combustion.
Power plants and other fossil fuel burning industrial areas release various
forms of nitrous oxides (Nox).  These two chemical compounds combine with the
water in the atmosphere to form what is known as acid rain.

     The main reason that has prompted legislation of industrial emissions
from governments is because of the negative effects they can have on the
environment.  Acid rain is harmful to the environment because of it's low pH.
It can harm the biotic components of earth, and also the abiotic components.
It's high acidity degrades soil to the point where it cannot support any type of
plant life.  Trees in forests are killed over long-term exposure.  When these
trees are killed, an imbalance in the hydrologic cycle can occur.  Without
living trees to consume the precipitate, it must be consumed by the earth or any
other plants.  These will receive an excess of water, causing other problems in
the hydrologic cycle.  This in turn causes a chain reaction of death among our
forests.  Some regions are more susceptible to acid rain because they don't have
enough Alkaline soil to "neutralize" the acid before it is able to destroy the
rest of the soil or before it can run off into lakes or rivers.  Aquatic
environments can be greatly affected by soil runoff.  Acidic soil may runoff
into lakes and rivers due to erosion, causing acid rain to destroy more
environment.  Acid rain aquatic animals as well as aquatic plant life.  When
acid rain combines with water in major bodies of water, it not only destroys
wildlife habitat, it destroys our drinking water.  An aquatic ecosystem is very
dependent on each and every aspect withi...

This is ONLY a preview of the article. If you would like to view the entire document, you must subscribe to Academic Library. Please register below now!

Subscribe to Academic Library

When you subscribe to the Academic Library, you get 24-hour access to the online database containing full-text articles written by thousands of scholarly students. For only $8.95 per month, you receive unlimited monthly access to view and download all of our 40,000 articles available online. That is less than the price of one textbook!
This price includes:

24-hours-a-day, 7 days a week unlimited access on any computer with Internet access

Complete access to all 40,000 articles, essays, and research papers

Ability to view and download virtually unlimited number of documents

Ability to browse through perfectly arranged catalog of articles

Superior search and relevancy ranking techniques using Google SiteSearch and our local search engine

Instant access to the online database after registration

You can pay by credit card, checking account. You get instant access after registration:

You will be billed $ 8.95 every 30 days (recurring billing) starting on the day you subscribe.
Your credit card will automatically be renewed for your convenience until you cancel.

If you are already registered, please click here to login.


	Home \| Register \| Login \| FAQ \| Forgot Password \| Privacy Policy \| Disclaimer \| Close Account \| Contact Us \| Logout Copyright 1998-2007 Academic Library. Academic Library is designed only to assist students and researchers in the preparation of their own work. Anybody who use our services are responsible not only for writing their own papers, but also for citing Academic Library as a source when doing so. By accessing and using this page you agree to the Disclaimer. If you wish to cancel your subscription to Academic Library, please click here.