PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Acid rain can have harmful effects on plants, animals and humans. It is caused when gaseous compounds of ammonium, carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur are released into the atmosphere. The wind carries the gases high into the sky. There the compounds react with the water in the atmosphere and acids are made.
Acid rain has been shown to have a bad impact on forests, freshwater and soil. It kills insect and aquatic life-forms as well as causes damage to buildings and having impacts on human health.
There are various natural causes, such as gases from volcanoes. However, it is thought that air pollution by people now causes most acid rain. People started producing more acidic gases when they started building factories and power stations. These buildings as well as houses and vehicles burn coal or oil that have sulfur in them. This releases gases into the air that produce acid rain
Acid rain poisons rivers and lakes. Fish and other animals cannot live in acid water .It is also bad for buildings as the acid damages calcium carbonate stone. The acid dissolves it. Many buildings and monuments have been damaged by acid rain.
In 1852, Robert Angus Smith showed the relationship between acid rain and atmospheric pollution in Manchester.He coined the term "acid rain" in 1872.
