Acid rain is a form of
precipitation that has high amounts of
sulfuric or
nitric acids. Generally a
pH lower than 5.5 qualifies. Acid rain is created when sulfur
dioxides and nitrogen oxides combine in a cloud or where it’s really humid. The acidic rain kills life in water like fish etc. and it can contaminate water and kill vegetation. It can also damage structures and statues.
The main cause of acid rain is
air pollution. This is from factories, cars, and air conditioning. Forest fires and volcano gases also worsen the problem. As the population increases, more factories are being produced to produce more cars and goods.
Winds blows the acid rain into countries that were not a part of the cause. The north-eastern united states creates a lot of pollution and it blows into Canada, contaminating their water and damaging wild life. They complain that it kills their forests and fish in lakes. In Europe the problem has been escalating as well, recently acid rain has been getting much worse in the Scandinavian areas and western Europe in general. Acid rain has been a recognized threatening problem since the 1950s. There have been efforts to reduce it, like the U.S
Clean Air Act in 1990 and the Helsinki Protocol in 1985.
Acid rain can be reduced if we can make more efficient cars and improve our filters on factories etc. There isn't much we can do about forest fires and volcanoes but the human side of the cause can certainly be improved.