All over the world, industrialization brought about great changes on the landscape of human existence. On one extreme, advancement in technology and in the lifestyle media, and on the other extreme, pollution and environmental degradation.
Factories and power plants rises from what were once vast wilderness and tropical forest. As more and more of these industrial structures dominate the landscape, the greater abuse is subjected to global environment.
Factories and power plants release harmful chemicals into the atmosphere. Some, such as sulfur, fall to the ground as tiny particles. The rest are dissolved by the moisture in the atmosphere. These chemicals mixed with the prevailing weather. It falls down to Earth as acid rain.
The term acid rain, or more accurately acid precipitation, is commonly used to mean the deposition of acidic components in rain, snow, dew, or dry particles. Acid rain occurs when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are emitted into the atmosphere, undergo chemical transformations, and are absorbed by water droplets in clouds. The droplets then fall to earth as rain, snow, mist, dry dust, hail, or sleet. This increases the acidity of the soil, and affects the chemical balance of lakes and streams.
Acid rain accelerates weathering in carbo-nate rocks and accelerates building weathering. It also contributes to acidification of rivers, streams, and forest damage at high elevations. When the acid build up in rivers and streams, it can kill fish and other aquatic lifeforms. It also adversely affects forest resources killing off insect and other small animals to the detriment of prevailing ecology.
Acid rain has been shown to also have adverse impacts on both rural and urban communities, causing damage to crops and livestock, weathering to buildings, and having immeasurable impacts on human health.
