Acid Rain: The Industrial Revolutions Negative Externality Casey Godfrey English 250 December 5, 2011

Godfrey 2 Since the Industrial Revolution took place, humans have had the ability to produce and

sell astonishing amounts of goods and services than before the revolution. Since goods could be produced and purchased at lower costs when compared to before this period, it created a spark that allowed future generations a higher standard of living, increased jobs, and predictability. During this booming period, people were focused on their current issues at hand and how to take advantage of the plentiful opportunities. People neglected to think of the cost that the Industrial Revolution would have on the environment and what kind of harms that fossil fuels would have in the long run. To the people of this period the cost to them was the energy and production costs, however they neglected to realize that their future generations would pay the price from their excessive use of coal energy and other dirty fossil fuels. As the Industrial
The Industrial Revolution has contributed to increased CO2 levels

Revolution continued to fuel

innovation and knowledge in the field of science and industry, weve learned the full extent of the damages that fossil fuels cause and our need to find an alternative energy, just not for the environments sake, but because fossil fuels arent a renewable resource. Acid rain and the damage it causes to the environment such as: damaging buildings and structures, changing the pH of bodies of water and streams, as well as affecting soil composition, highlights the need for a solution to the problem of pollution. We need to make our society more environmentally friendly in such a way that future generations of humans can thrive, and species and plants can reproduce and grow to their fullest extent. Our society needs to focus on how to reduce pollution done to the environment by using methods of one or more of the following:

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utilizing fossil fuels whose environmental damage can be minimalized or prevented by using energies such as nuclear power or natural gas, generating power by using renewable energies such as solar or wind power, and reducing the aggregate energy demanded caused by excessive human population growth and overpopulation. The gathering of pollutants such as carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere are caused by various factors such as the burning of fossil fuels, industrial processes, transportation emissions, and 1kg of CO2 being produced per person everyday by each person breathing, all of which currently contribute to the production of acid rain (Emission Facts and Questions). Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases cause the pH levels of precipitation to be very low, or acidic; with a high pH it would be regarded as basic. The pH level generally ranges from 0 to 14, with 7 being regarded as neutral. By the rain having acidic properties, it can erode monuments made of limestone and marble, such as the ones in Washington D.C. because theyre predominantly made of the calcium carbonate, which are vulnerable to acidic properties, such as the acidic properties found in acid rain (Acid Rain in Washington). Acid rain causes the devaluation and destruction of property, in which our society has to spend wasteful amounts of money in order to restore it to the structures former integrity or sentimental value due to societys interest in appreciating their beauty. The damage done to structures on a national level is immense, yet alone at a global scale, deprives society of these once previous monuments and the appreciation they formerly held. In attempt to curb the expenditures to restore these monuments and to lessen the damage done to the environment, we should be seeking alterative energys that dont harm the environment and are renewable resources. The damaging effects of acid rain towards monuments is small price when compared to the other aforementioned effects of acid rain, such as the effect it has on the pH of water, in

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which ourselves and other organisms drink and use in order to survive, and the pH composition of soil that we grow our crops in and in which other wildlife grows. The soil composition the Great Plains region, including Iowa, heavily consists of alkaline soils, specifically soils rich in limestone which are vulnerable to acidic rain. The extent of the damage caused by acid rain to the soil depends on several factors such as the weather, thickness of the soil, and water flow patterns. For example, during the winter months the soil cannot process its acid content, which causes the soil to be acidic. Other factors include soil composition; various soil compositions may include minerals such as quartz which is resistant towards weathering. If the soil contains a mineral that is resistant to weathering, then it cannot erode the mineral in order balance the pH because calcium carbonate neutralizes acid, it being a base (Acid Rain Effects). As discussed previously, if certain minerals are not present in the soil, then it causes the soil composition to be more acidic. This can causes the plants that thrive in alkaline or basic soil to die. If the problem is left to run rampant, other parts of the ecosystem that depend on these plants or soil can be negatively affected, which could easily cause a systematic collapse of the ecosystem if the problem were left unattended (Effects of Acid Rain - Surface Waters and Aquatic Animals). Organisms that thrive on healthy soil are also affected by acidic bodies of water becoming affected, due to the global water cycle. Because of the global water cycle, acid rain hurts both bodies of water and soil at the same time, causing harm to fish, plants, and other organisms, regardless if they reside in or close to the body of water thats affected. Acid rain harms and kills individual fish, reduces their population numbers, is able to eliminate entire fish

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species from bodies of water, and decreases biodiversity of all life on Earth affected by acidic rain. As acid rain flows through bodies of water it causes aluminum to be released from the soil below the water; as the pH of the water drops, so does the aluminum levels. Higher aluminum levels causes fish to decrease in weight and make them less able to compete for food in their habitat. At a pH level of 4, it causes adult fish, insects, and other life to die and makes prevents eggs from hatching, which causes a disruption in the ecosystem (Global Water and Nitrogen Cycles). The ecosystem depends on itself as a whole staying healthy if one part of the ecosystem affected, it will affect its other parts, as seen by soil depending on healthy rain in order for plants and crops to grow and fish depending on healthy unpolluted water in order to survive. Despite nuclear power gaining a bad reputation due to nuclear disasters that were preventable by following proper safety procedures, popularity has still steadily grown. Foreign powers such as the European Union and Asia have devoted more resources looking into improving upon nuclear powers efficiency and safety; currently the European Union produces 15% of its energy from nuclear power (Nuclear Energy). The U.S. Department of Energys projections estimate that demand for energy in the United States will rise 24% by the year 2035. Alterative energies such as natural gas and biomass have been suggested as an alternative to coal, which produce much less emissions in comparisons, but still emit some greenhouse gases (How Does Electricity Affect the Environment?"). More research regarding nuclear power needs to be perused and looked into; for example better utilization of nuclear waste and ways of reducing it such as use of fast-neutron reactors which can extract more energy from recycled nuclear fuel, and reduce the isolation time in which it must be kept (Smarter Use of Nuclear Waste). With more research, nuclear energy will become a safer alternative to other fossil fuels by increasing

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efficiency and reducing the time nuclear waste must be isolated, causing even a higher use in nuclear energy than now, which has gotten to where its at due to attractiveness of cost. Renewable energies such as wind, solar, and hydroelectric power are a useful source of energy because they produce little to no pollution, however the problem with solar and wind energy is the extensive amounts of windmills and solar panels needed to generate sufficient amounts of power for large populations by themselves (Wind, Solar, Hydro and Other Alternative Energy Sources). However, some places are conveniently located next deserts which are uninhabited, such as the Mojave Desert which is home to many solar power plants. While hydroelectric dams produce adequate amounts of power, both hydroelectric dams and wind energy are limited by the requirement of placement in certain areas; hydroelectric dams require a water source with adequate water flow and windmills require areas with atmospheric conditions to generate enough wind for the windmill to be useful. People have grown attached to being environmentally friendly such as promoting the reduction of pollutants, but regardless of our progression in sustainability and even a very high rate of recycling and the reusing of materials, many of our resources not just those used for energy production, are fixed. While being environmentally friendly is helpful at slowing down the pace of pollution and increasing sustainability, these two objectives are countered by overpopulation. In a technological society that has increasing amounts of automation and exponentially increasing amounts of people, eventually GDP per capita is destined to fall along with the quality of life and unemployment rates will rise. Due to levels of automation, the costs of good can fall because of the decreasing requirements for humans in the manufacturing process, because of

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which the price of goods is able to fall further, and more people can afford the aforementioned goods. With the increasing population, it in turn causes more people with wants and needs to satisfy, while amounts of limited and natural resources stay constant. As of 2011 the world population has exceeded 7 billion people and current projections show that the world population will reach 10.1 billion by the year 2100 and continue to grow ("10 Billion Plus: Why World Population Projections Were Too Low"). These projections also have the possibility of being low due to birth volatility of developing countries in which fertility rates rise and infant mortality rates fall. Eventually the Earth wont be able to sustain everyone and one day resources may completely diminish if population growth continues on the path that its on. By the population increasing, thats an additional person contributing to pollution and using resources, both of which strain the environment. Little research has been done to counter this delicate issue, but at the current time all we can do is promote research and educate people of the problem of overpopulation in order to help people realize the subtle seriousness of overpopulation. Once we find an adequately safe energy that is sufficient enough to provide for our populations energy needs, then we can also use that energy to produce electricity or hydrogen to power vehicles, which would further reduce emitted pollution due to the ability to make electricity and hydrogen using cleaner methods to have vehicles run on. We need to organize ourselves more efficiently to prevent acid rain and utilize minimal polluting alternative energies so that the entire ecosystem, ourselves included, can sustain their needs, while at the same time doing so thats done in an environmental friendly way in order to protect our environment and land for future use. In addition, the problem of overpopulation needs to be addressed due to it causing increasing amounts of resources and energy needed to sustain our society and creating additional people to pollute and reap Earths resources.

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Works Cited CO2 Levels.Graph.By NOAA.NASA.Web. 05 Dec. 2011. Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. NASA.Web. 05 Dec. 2011. <http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/>. "Emission Facts and Questions." Environmental Protection Agency, 14 Apr. 2011. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. <http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/fq/emissions.html>. "Building Stones of Our Nation's Capital: Acid Rain in Washington." U.S. Geological Survey, 21 May 2007. Web. 26 Nov. 2011. <http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/stones/acid-rain.html>. "Acid Rain Effects." Elmhurst College, 21 May 2003. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. <http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/196soil.html>. "Effects of Acid Rain - Surface Waters and Aquatic Animals." US Environmental Protection Agency, 01 Dec. 2008. Web.27 Nov. 2011. <http://epa.gov/acidrain/effects/surface_water.html>. "The Global Water and Nitrogen Cycles."The Global Change Program. University of Michigan, 30 Oct. 2010. Web. 26 Nov. 2011. <http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange1/current/lectures/kling/water_nitro/w ater_and_nitrogen_cycles.htm>. "Nuclear Energy."EUROPA European Commission.Web. 05 Dec. 2011. <http://ec.europa.eu/energy/nuclear/index_en.htm>. How Does Electricity Affect the Environment?" US Environmental Protection Agency, 10 Aug. 2009. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. <http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-andyou/affect/index.html>. Hannum, William H., Gerald E. Marsh, and George S. Stanford."Smarter Use of Nuclear Waste."Scientific American Dec. 2005: 84-91. Print. "Wind, Solar, Hydro and Other Alternative Energy Sources." AlternativeEnergy.org. Web. 26 Nov. 2011. <http://www.altenergy.org>. Lightfoot, Frederick S. "Overpopulation Strains Earth's Resources." The New York Times, 13 Dec. 1988. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/26/opinion/loverpopulation-strains-earth-s-resources-200888.html>. Kaiser, Jocelyn. "10 Billion Plus: Why World Population Projections Were Too Low." ScienceInsider (2011). 04 May 2011. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. <http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/05/10-billion-plus-why-worldpopulation.html>.